% 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


S/iel/.. 


BX  6495 

.S7  N43  1883        ) 

Needham, 

Geo.  C.  1840-1902. 

The  life 

and  labors  of 

Charles 

H.  Spurgeon 

THE    LIFE    AND    LABORS 


OF 


CHARLES     H.    SPURGEON. 


THE 


LIFE  AND  LABORS 


OF 


CHARLES  H.  SPURGEON, 


THE  FAITHFUL  PREACHER,    THE  DEVOTED  PASTOR,    THE 
NOBLE  PHILANTHROPIST,    THE  BELOVED   COLLEGE 
PRESIDENT,    AND    THE    VOLUMINOUS 
WRITER,  AUTHOR,  ETC.,  ETC. 


COMPILED    AND   EDITED 

By   GEO.   C.  ^NEEDHAM, 

!Ebangcltst, 

AUTHOR   OF   "recollections    OF    HENRY   MOORHOUSE,"    "THE  TRUE 
TABERNACLE,"    ETC. 


Boston:    D.  L.  GUERNSEY. 


New  York:    K.  S.  V.  RANDOLPH. 
Philadelphia:    BRADLEY  AND  COMPANY. 
Chicago:    FAIRBANKS,  PALMER,  &  CO. 
St.  Louis:   JOHN  BURNS. 
Cleveland:  P.  W.  GARFIELD. 


Detroit:   C.  G.  G.  PAINE. 
San  Francisco:    A.  ROMAN. 
Rochester:    H.  B.  GRAVES. 
Dallas:   J.  W.  STRONG. 
Drnver:    J.  M.  STEVENSON. 


New  Orleans:   F.   R.    SOUTHMAYD. 


1883 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1881, 

By  D.  L.  Guernsey, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


University  Press: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


1^' 
THSOLt 


PREFACE. 


MR.  SPURGEON  has  never  written  his  own  life,  nor 
has  he  authorized  any  one  else  to  do  so.    He  has 
had    no    personal   interest  in   or  connection    with  any   of 
the  "  Sketches  "  which  have  issued  from  the  press.     Facts 
of  history  are,  however,  common  to  all,  and  there  is  no  law 
forbidding   publishers  to    trade    in  foreign  works;    never- 
theless, a  moral  obligation  will  bind  every  honorable  man 
to  refrain  from  piracy.      We  have  acknowledged  our  in- 
debtedness elsewhere  to  Mr.  Stevenson,  and  we  hope  his 
valuable  little  work  will  become  accessible  to   American 
readers.     From   Mr.  Spurgeon   himself  we  have  had  gen- 
erous permission  to  make  use  of  his  writings   at  our  own 
discretion.     We  heartily  thank  him  for  this  privilege.     His 
personal  letters  have   encouraged  us  in  our  youthful  days 
to  persevere  in  evangelistic  labors,  while  those  received  in 
later    years    are    precious   treasures.      With    characteristic 
humility  he  suggests  in  his  latest,  "  Don't  let  writing  take 
you  off  from  preaching ;  I  am  a  poor  subject ;  keep  to  the 
Lord  Jesus." 

In  our  careful  and  conscientious  preparation  of  this  book 
we  have  heeded  the  sweet  counsel  of  this  dear  servant  of 


PREFACE. 


Christ,  and  have  prayerfully  labored  to   make  prominent, 
not  the  disciple,  but  the  Master,  and  thereby  magnify  His 


abounding  grace. 


We  earnestly  trust  that  this  form  of  ministry  will, 
"  through  the  thanksgiving  of  many,  redound  to  the  glory 
of  God." 


^e^;  C-  %is^^^1Louu,^^ 


Manchester-by-the-Sea,  Mass. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Four  Pen  Pictures.  —  The  Whitfield  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  —  Second 
Photograph.  — Third  Photograph.  —  Last  Photograph.  —  Letter  to  his 
Uncle.  —  Glorying  in  Grace.  —  "The  Boy  is  Father  to  the  Man."  — 
A  Great  Statesman.  —  Youth  and  Old  Age.  —  Middle  Life.  —  "  All  my 
Springs  are  in  Thee."  —  Pastor  James  H.  Brookes.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon 
in  the  Dingy  Chapel.  —  His  Prayer.  —  The  Sermon.  —  "Thank  God 
for  Spurgeon  !  "  — A  Flash  of  Genius.  —  Sensational  Preachers. —  Mr. 
Spurgeon  is  a  Manly  Man.  —  Herculean  Labors.  —  Dr.  Chalmers.  —  A 
Living  Man.  —  Bishop  Nicholson.  —  A  Pastor's  Testimony.  —  A  Many- 
sided  Man.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Personal  History.  —  Motives  in  this 
Work.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Example.  —  Teaching  of  the  Great  Preacher. 
—  The  Bible. —  Business  Men  who  need  a  Book.  —  Wit  and  Homely 
Wisdom.  —  "  A  Labor  of  Love  " 


CHAPTER   n. 

AN.CESTRY,    PARENTAGE,    BIRTH. 

History  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  his  Forty-third  Birthday.  —  Ancestors. —  Great 
Grandfather.  —  Grandfather.  —  A  Long  Pastorate.  —  Great  Usefulness. 

—  Buckled  Shoes  and  Silk  Stockings.  —  The  Father  of  Charles.  —  Per- 
sonal Worth  and  Ministerial  Ability.  —  The  Beloved  Mother.  —  Charley 
a  Baptist. — June  19,  1834,  their  Son  Charles  born.  —  A  Noble  Mother. 
"  The  Children  will  be  cared  for."  —  Precocity.  —  Richard  Knill's 
Prophecy. —  The  Bottomless  Pit. —  Mr  Knill  and  the  Lad.  — Strange 
Fulfilment.  —  Sowing  beside  all  Waters.  —  Aunt  Ann.  —  "  Old  Bonner." 

—  School. — Reason  and  Revelation 21 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   III, 

CONVERSION    AND    PREACHING. 

Deep  Conviction.  —  Heart  broken  in  Pieces. —  One  Snowy  Day.  —  "Look, 
look,  look  !  ■"  —  How  to  preach.  — A  Bit  for  Boys.  —  A  Grateful  Heart. 
—  Baptism.  —  Consecration.  —  First  Sermon.  —  Results.  —  First  Pas- 
torate.—  Cornelius  Elven.  —  Hindered  from  going  to  College.  —  An 
Aversion  to  College.  —  Sunshine.  —  Poem  at  Age  of  Eighteen       .    •     •    33 

CHAPTER   IV. 

CALL   TO    LONDON. 

The  Youthful  Evangelist,  —  Mr.  Spurgeon  came,  preached,  conquered.  — 
The  Congregation  stirred.  —  Letters  to  the  Church.  —  Six  Months'  Invi- 
tation. —  The  Small  Minority.  —  I  accept  it.  —  Fame  of  the  Young  Min- 
ister. —  Who  is  this  Spurgeon  ?  —  Asiatic  Cholera.  —  The  Shoemaker's 
Window.  —  Publication  of  Sermons.  —  The  Preacher's  Style.  —  A 
Quaker's  Criticism.  — Exeter  Hall. —  First  Visit  to  Scotland.  —  Open- 
air  Sermon.  —  Anne  Sims.  —  Watchnight  Service.  —  Clergymen  using 
his  Sermons       4g 


CHAPTER  V. 

ABUNDANT    IN   LABORS 

Marriage.  —  Twin  Boys.  —  New  Park-street  Chapel  enlarged.  —  Royal 
Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall.  —  The  Great  Tabernacle. — The  Aris- 
tocracy. ^—  Membership  in  Ten  Years,  3,569.  —  The  Queen  of  Holland. 

—  Invited  to  America.  —  "  Nor  would  I  receive  Money  for  Preaching." 

—  Twenty  Thousand  formed  the  Preacher's  Audience.  —  Fen  Pictures. 

—  Incessant  Duties. — The  First  Student.  —  "  Married  Love"      ...     63 


CHAPTER  VI. 

REVIVALS. 

"Our  Own  Hymn  Book." — The  Colportage  Association.  —  "Spurgeonism," 
—  Mr,  Spurgeon  in  Paris.  —  Costermongers.  —  "  Wot  a  Woice  !  "  —  Im- 
mense Congregations  in  the  Agricultural  Hall.  — Visit  to  Heligoland     .     73 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MULTIPLYING   WORK. 

The  Orphan  Houses.  —  A  Great  Festival.  —  "  On  my  Back."  —  His  Brother 
Co-Pastor.  —  Prophetic  Words  of  Richard  Knill.  —  A  Dark  Shadow. — 
Strange  Tales.  —  "A  Black  Business." — Small-Pox.  —  Encouraging 
Pastors. — Remarkable  Energy  and  Activity. — Visit  to  Italy.  —  King 
Victor  Immanuel.  —  "Feathers  for  Arrows."  —  The  Bible  as  a  Daily 
School-Book 8i 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

RESULTS    OF   OVERWORK. 

Additions  to  the  Church.  —  Jersey  and  Guernsey.  —  Telegram  from  Bos- 
ton. —  A  Second  Tabernacle.  —  Membership  in  1873, 4,41 7.  —  Well  done, 
Pastor  Spurgeon!  —  The  Jubilee  Singers. — Strange  and  Interesting 
Facts.  —  Helping  Newman  Hall.  —  Literary  Labors.  —  The  New  College     91 

CHAPTER   IX. 

TRIALS    AND    DELIVERANCES, 

Debts  paid,  but  Bank  empty. — George  Miiller.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  Bed- 
ford. —  Smoking  to  the  Glory  of  God.  —  A  Noble  Reply. —  Charles  and 
Thomas.  —  Declining  a  Testimonial.  —  "  Twenty  Years  of  Published 
Sermons."  —  Twofold  Marvel.  —  Generous  Distributions.  —  Gout.  — 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey.  —  Best  Remedy  against  Infidelity.  — The 
Cabman  and  the  Testament.  —  A  Great  Grief      . 


CHAPTER   X. 

DEVISING  LIBERAL   THINGS. 

The  Work  of  Mrs.  Bartlett. —  "  House  of  Mercy.' — November  Fogs  in 
London.  —  Dr.  Brock  and  Mr.  Spurgeon.  —  Weekly  Offerings.  —  Grand- 
father, Father,  and  Son.  —  The  Pastor's  Birthday.  -^  Five  Spurgeons 
delivered  Addresses.  —  The  College  Tutor  and  the  Young  Man.  —  "Laid 
Aside.  Why?"  — "The  Tabernacle  was  as  full  as  a  Barrel  packed 
with  Herrings."  — Mr.  Spurgeon  in  Scotland.  —  Rescue  the  Perishing. 
—  Assailed  by  some  Newspapers.  —  A  Letter  from  Austria.  —  Mr. 
Spurgeon  addresses  Merchants  and  Business  Men. —Controversy. — 
A  Flower  Mission. —Variety  of  Agencies.  —  Extensive  Benevolence 
and  Philanthropy.  —  Forty-third  Birthday.  —  The  Pastoral  Silver  Wed- 
ding.—  The  Almshouses 


99 


III 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XI. 

THE   METROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE. 

History  of  the  Church.  —  Modest  Ministers.  —  Best  Excuse  for  Writing  a 
History.  —  The  Church  born  in  Stormy  Times.  —  1645.  —  First  Pastor. 
Oliver  Cromwell.  —  Benjamin  Keach.  —  Keach  upon  the  Pillory.  —  The 
Cross  is  the  Way  to  the  Crown.  — A  Voluminous  Writer.  —  Remarkable 
Answer  to  Prayer.  —  Benjamin  Stinton.  — John  Gill.  — The  Great  Lin- 
guist. —  "I  neither  thought  it,  nor  bought  it,  nor  sought  it."  —  Two  New 
Tunes.  —  David's  Tunes.  — The  Jokes  were  Ponderous.  —  The  Scissors 
and  the  Long  Tongue.  —  Not  afraid  to  be  Poor. — John  Rippon. — 
An  Address  to  George  III.  — Two  Ministers  during  One  Hundred 
and  Seventeen  Years. — Joseph  Angus.  —  James  Smith.  —  "Just  like  a 
Packet  that  is  all  ready."  —  Charles  H.  Spurgeon.  —  The  Tabernacle. 

—  James  Spurgeon.  —  A  Working  Church.  —  Tabernacle  Building  Fund. 

—  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  Book  Fund.  —  Various  Missions 125 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE   PASTORS'    COLLEGE. 

Colleges  a  Bane  or  a  Blessing. —  "  Schools  of  the  Prophets."  —  First- 
born and  Best  Beloved.  —  Mode  of  training  Preachers.  —  Our  Principal 
Tutor.  —  Carriage  for  Sale.  —  The  Last  Pound.  —  Forty  Students.  — 
Great  Trial  of  Faith.  —  All-sufficient  Provider.  —  A  Miracle  if  all  should 
excel.  —  Plan  of  Separate  Lodging.  —  Eighty  to  One  Hundred.  —  Efficient 
Tutors. —  The  Good  Earl  of  Shaftesbury. —Various  Ways  in  which 
God  has  answered  Prayer.  —  Suitable  and  Commodious  New  Build- 
ings.—  Large  Amounts. —  Laus  Deo 147 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

PRESIDENT'S    REPORT,  1881. 

Paganini.  — Gratitude  writ  Large.  —  Experiment  of  Doddridge.—  Semina- 
ries of  Socinianism.—  Applicants  not  tempted  by  Rich  Livings.  —  Scholar- 
ship. _  Diamonds  found  in  the  Rough.  —  Some  were  induced  to  run 
away. —  One  of  the  Donkeys.— J.  A.  Spurgeon,  Vice-President.— 
Weeding  Work.  —  Stir  up  the  Holy  Fire.  —  How  few  ever  pray  for  Stu- 
dents !  — Rank  and  File.  — The  Antipodes.— Letter  from  Australia.— 
Fidelity  to  Christ.  — Loving  Epistle  from  Canada.  —  We  "  Shake  Hands 
across  the  Vast."—  Evangelists  for  Indi  i.—  Balance  at  the  Banker's  .     .161 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

INAUGURAL    ADDRESS. 

It  has  stirred  our  Soul.  —  An  Eccentric  Judge. — The  Rousing  Signal  of 
Nelson.  —  Parade  is  ended.  —  A  Great  German  Philosopher.  —  Playing 
Croquet  or  Cricket. — The  Moujik.  —  A  Quaker.  —  "  Do  thee  know  how 
thee  might  draw  Eleven  Butts?"  —  First  get  the  Light. — A  Great 
Advantage  to  a  Minister.  —  A  Brain  is  a  very  Hungry  Thing.  —  Stars 
and  Human  Bones. — "More  Light,  Lord!"  —  A  Little  Comfortable 
Misery. —  Talleyrand.  —  Blondinon  the  Tight  Rope.  —  Keep  the  Light 
burning  in  Your  Churches.  —  Heavenly  Fire.  —  A  Lukewarm  Sermon. 
—  The  Apes  and  the  Glowworm.  —  Energy.  —  Kindled  from  on  High.  — 
Wholly  the  Lord's.  —  Swans  out  of  the  Water.  —  The  Head  and  not 
the  Tail       I73 


CHAPTER   XV. 

INAUGURAL   ADDRESS    {Coiifmued). 

Fixity  of  Belief.  —  Boasting  is  Sorry  Work.  —  Rally  to  the  Old  Standard. 
—  The  Sweetest  Frame.  —  Leo  X.  —  Pluck. — Regiment  of  Giants. — 
Expecting  the  Blessing.  —  Believe  your  own  Doctrine.  —  The  Alarm- 
Bell.  —  The  Living  God  should  be  served  by  Living  Men.  —  Preparing 
a  Sermon.  — Two  Important  Persons.  —  Greeks  are  always  Youths. — 
Ornamental  Waters.  —  Love  is  Power.  —  Love  your  Work.  —  Slocum- 
in-the-Marsh.  — Soul-Winning  a  Passion.  — The  Golden  Bribe.  — Effi- 
cient Preachers. —  Entire  Surrender. — Our  Watchword 189 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

STOCKWELL   ORPHANAGE. 

The  Care  of  the  Orphan.  —  Mrs.  Hillyard's  Offer  of  $100,000.  —  Founda-  • 
tions    laid.  —  Silver- Wedding    House.  —  Merchant's    House.  —  Work- 
men's House.  —  Unity  House.  —  College  House.  —  Testimonial  House. 

—  Selling  Household  Plate.  —  Munificent  Gifts.  —  Selecting  Orphans. 

—  The  Management.  —  Many  Applicants.  —  Various  Gifts.  —  Encour- 
aging Results. —  Health  of  the  Inmates 205 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

ANNUAL   REPORT,  1881. 

Twelfth  Report.  —  Faith  in  God.  —  Special  Providence.  —  The  Ever- 
opened  Hand.  —  Sanitary  Condition.  —  Family  Worship.  —  Total 
Abstainers.  —  Christian  Sympathy.  —  Song  Services.  —  Spontaneous 
Benevolence.  —  Caring  for  the  Widow  and  Fatherless.  —  "The  Ser- 
mon House."  —  "  The  Limes."  —  "  The  Olives."  —  A  Great  Square.  — 
Memorials 217 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE   GIRLS'  ORPHANAGE. 

The  Late  Testimonial.  —  "Go  Forward."  —  Never  been  in  Debt.  —  A 
Grand  Opportunity.  —  The  Lord  will  provide.  —  One  Thousand  Dollars 
a  Week.  —  Five  Hundred  Little  Ones.  —  A  Reasonable  Service     .     .     .  227 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

SUNSHINE   IN    THE    HEART. 

Removed  by  Death.  —  A  Heritage  of  Disease.  —  Dying  Experiences. — 
Child-piety  of  the  Theorists.  —  Ernest  Bray.  —  Soul-Winning.  —  Deep- 
seated  Disease.  —  "It  looks  More  Shining!"  —  "I  shall  sing  out 
Loud."  —  Your  Loving  Brother.  —  Happy  now.  —  "I  am  ready."  — 
"Dear  Mr.  Spurgeon."  —  "Dear  Bray."  —  "Bray's  Bricks."  —  Plum 
Cake.  — Jesus,  come  quickly.  —  "  There  's  Jesus  !  "--"  Happy,  happy, 
happy  !  "  —  Mr.  Gough.  —  Gymnastic  Exercises.  —  A    Penny   apiece. 

—  The   Sick    Boy.  —  The    Prayer.  —  The  Greater  and  Grander  Man. 

—  Aim  of  the  Managers 233 

CHAPTER   XX. 

THE    COLPORTAGE   ASSOCIATION. 

The  Object  of  this  Association.  —  Unsectarian  in  its  Operations.  —  The 
Printing-Press.  —  Pernicious  Literature.  —  Reports  from  Superinten- 
dents. —  Distributed  4,620  Tracts.  —  Practical  Usefulness  of  the  Col- 
portage  Work.  — The  Untabulated  Results.  —  Sold  289  Bibles  and  1,229 
Testaments.  —  Prevalence  of  Evil  Literature  and  its  Cure.  —  Conver- 
sions through  Books.  — Gratuitous  Tract  Distribution  and  its  Results. — 

—  The  Pipe-Light. —  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Sermons.  —  Prayer  under  the 
Hedge. —  Preaching  the  Gospel  from  House  to  House.  —  Addressing 
the  Colliers.  —  The  Colporteur's  "Sabbath.  —  Conversion  Work.  —  The 
Colporteur  and  Temperance.  —  Branch  of  the  Great  Tree 249 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
"THE   SWORD  AND  THE   TROWEL." 

Seventeenth  Volume.  —  The  Word  and  the  Work.  —  Vein  of  Humor. — 
"  I  wish  I  had  a  Mother  to  come  after  Me  !  "  —  "  Launching  Out."  — 
"Jock  and  his  Mither."  —  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Preface.  —  The  Editor. — 
Warm-hearted  Brotherhood.  —  The  Hand  of  the  Lord.  —  Material  for 
Preachers.  —  Our  Watchword  still  is  Forward.  —  "The  Hornless  Dea- 
con,"—  Deacons  a  Much-abused  Order  of  Men.  —  A  Hornless  Deacon 
is  one  who  cannot  give  Offence.  —  The  Ram's  Horn.  —  We  sometimes 
drink  out  of  a  Horn.  —  Our  Yankee  Brethren  have  a  Vivacious  Style 
of  Speech.  —  "  More  Ways  of  killing  a  Cat  than  by  choking  of  him 
with  Cream."  —  Soup  for  a  Grasshopper.  —  Modern  Collegians. — 
Gooseberries  twice  as  Large  as  Possible. — The  Common  Slang  of  the 
Day. —  Highly  colored  Descriptions.  —  Leave  the  Monstrous  Goose- 
berries to  the  Newspapers,  —  "  The  Art  of  Tormenting."  —  Reconciled 
to  being  Corpulent. —  A  Back  of  Leather  laughs  at  the  Cat-o'-nine-tails. 
' —  Bane  and  Antidote 261 


CHAPTER   XXH. 
EDITORIALS. 

Our  First  Sermon. —  Many  came  to  hear  "The  Boy."  —  Recruiting 
Sergeant.  —  A  cunningly  devised  Sentence.  —  Fairly  committed  to  do 
my  Best.  —  "  Bless  your  Dear  Heart,  how  old  are  You  1 "  —  Mute  as 
Fishes. — The  Prim  Little  Man.  — Twenty-five  Years  Ago.  —  Always 
Knew  that  his  Minister  would  be  run  away  with.  —  The  Toil-Gate. — 
The  Youth  from  the  Country.  —  The  Great  Divines.  —  Solitary  Misery. 

—  Amazed  at  our  own  Temerity.  —  The  Lion  has  been  looked  at.  — 
The  Review.  —  Handful  gleaned  among  the  Sheaves.  —  Five  Thousand 
Souls.  —  Not  Another  Gospel.  —  Hundreds  of  Young  Men  trained  for 
the  Ministry.  —  Evangelists.  —  Orphans  have  been  fed.  —  An  Army  of 
Colporteurs.  —  "  What  hath  God  wrought  ? "  —  The  Testimonials  will  go 
to  support  the  Aged  Sisters.  —  Sweet  Fruit  from  a  Thorny  Tree.  — 
The  Bitter  Box.  —  Pain  teaches  us  our  Nothingness.  —  We  are  most 
of  us  far  too  great.  — Heavy  Sickness  and  Crushing  Pain. —  The  Win- 
dows shut  which  look  towards  Earth.  —  Pearls  are  bred  in  the  Oyster 
by  Disease.  —  Pain,  if  sanctified,  creates  Tenderness  towards  Others. — 
The  Keys  of  Men's  Hearts.  —  Pain  has  a  Tendency  to  make  us  Grate- 
ful. —  Jehovah  Rophi.  —  Bruise,  Lord.  —  Cast  Anchor  under  the  Shelter 
of  Cape  Fellowsliip.  —  Address  to  Students. —  Ministers'  Afflictions. 

—  Sir  Francis  Drake.  —  A  Great    Pugilist.  —  Diagoras  the   Rhodian. 

—  Against  hastening  to   remove   from  the   Post  of  Duty.  — 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

"  The  Roundest  Peg  seldom  fits  into  the  Roundest  Hole  without  some 
Paring."  — Change  has  Charms  to  Some  Men.  —  No  Position  without  its 
Disadvantages.  —  "Brownie  is  in  the  Churn."  —  "Jack  of  all  Trades." 
—  "  Should  such  a  man  as  I  flee  ?  "  —  The  Hole  is  Round  Enough     ,  275 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES    BY   MR.   SPURGEON. 

Visiting  THE  Poor.  —  Joseph  Cook.  —  Rather  a  Sly  Poke,  Mr.  Cook. — 
Novel-Readers. — The  Back  Slums.  —  Salt  wants  to  be  rubbed  in. — 
Enfiui.  —  Society  Wants  to  be  made  into  a  Stirabout.  —  A  Continual 
Tooth-Drawing.  —  Sir  Thomas  Fowell  Buxton.  —  Utterances  in  Prayer- 
Meetings.  —  Oh,  that  the  Tooth  were  Out!— The  Click,  Clack,  Click, 
Clack  of  a  Fluent  Female.  —  Doctrinal  Error.  —  The  Famous  Dog 
of  Nile. —The  Artificial  Flash  of  Culture.  —  A  Lifeless  Plain  in  the 
Heart  of  Persia.  —  So-called  Scientific  Men.  —  On  George  MUlleRo  — 
The  Noblest  Work  of  God. —  Personified  Order.  —  Mr.  Miiller gives  us 
the  Idea  of  Enoch.  —  He  is  no  Monk.  —  He  is  too  Bright  for  our  Pen- 
cil.—  With  Speculations  he  does  not  intermeddle.  — He  enjoys  Life  to 
the  Utmost.  —  Pastorless  Flocks  —  Sheep  without  a  Shepherd.  ^ — A 
Supply  Committee. —  Spurgeon  refuses  to  be  imported.  —  Inflating 
Ministers. — -The  Church  and  its  Status. —  "The  Conservative  Working 
Man.'' — Story  of  the  Boy  in  the  Wood.  —  Catch  a  Minister  Young 
and  train  him.  —  Better  No  Man  than  the  Wrong  Man.  —  Look  up  as 
well  as  look  around.  —  Praise  of  Men.  —  "There  are  that  kiss  and 
kill."  —  The  Boa-Constrictor.  —  j\Ir.  Kilpin,  of  Exeter.  —  It  is  well  to 
have  a  Thick  Skin.  —  You  may  choke  a  Dog  with  Pudding.  —  Be  not 
Discouraged. — -Despondency.  — Joy.  —  Peril  from  the  Pulpit.  —  The 
dog  in  the  Grotto  del  Cane.  —  The  Tradesman.  —  The  Wizard.  —  Maim 
and  Tmtin.  —  On  being  in  Time.  —  Wasting  a  full  hour.  —  "  The  late 
Mr.  S ." — The  Punctuality  Association 299 


CHAPTER   XXIV„ 

REVIEWS. 

Our  After-Dinner  Pause.  —  "Feast  of  Reason."—  Papers,  Pens,  and  Ink. 
—  History  of  the  Teacup.  —  Examination  of  the  Doctrines  of  Condi- 
tional Immortality  and  Universalism. — The  Unsafe  Anchor.  — A  New 
Basis  of  Belief  in  Immortality.  — The  Epoch  of  the  Mammoth.  —  Popu- 
lar Recreation.  —  Studies  in  Matthew.  —  What  is  Truth  ?  —  The  Father- 
hood of  God.  —  A  Man,  every  Inch  of  Him.  —  Poor  Papa.  —  Everlast- 


CONTENTS.  XV 

ing  Punishment  not  Everlasting  Pain.  —  Cough's  Portrait.  —  Christianity 
and  the  Science  of  Religion.  —  The  Christian's  Plea  against  Modern 
Unbelief. — Works  of  Fiction. —  Holyda3S  and  Holidays.  —  The  Doc- 
trine of  Annihilation,  etc. — John  Ploughman's  Talk.  —  The  Unwel- 
come Baby.  —  Crocker  the  Clown.  —  The  Masque  torn  off.  —  Infidelity 
refuted.  —  Companion  to  the  Revised  Version  of  the  English  New 
Testament.  —  A  Reason  for  the  Hope  that  is  in  You.  —  The  Philosophy 
of  Science,  Experience,  and  Revelation.  —  Sermons.  —  Social  Purity. 
—  Thought  Blossoms.  —  On  a  Book  on  Cookery.  —  A  Book  of  Remem- 
brance in  Relation  to  the  Mystery  of  God 325 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

LETTERS. 

Mr.  Spurgeon's  Voluminous  Correspondence.  —  From  Sydney.  —  Victoria. 

—  South  Africa. —  Denmark.  —  North  America.  — ^  Florida.  —  Michigan. 

—  Quebec.  —  Fifteen-Hundredth  Sermon.  —  A  Cheering  Note.  —  Rus- 
sia.— India.  —  Germany.  —  France.  —  A  Fisherman.  —  China.  —  Tennes- 
see.—  A  Young  Swiss  Lady.  —  Results  in  Germany  and  Russia.  —  Vir- 
ginia. —  Dr.  Alexander  Keith.  —  Jersey.  —  Glasgow.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
Chinese  Name,  "  Sze-Pah-jing."  —  The  Spare  Leaf.  —  One  Volume  of 
Sermons.  —  Ireland.  —  South  Australia.  —  Jamaica.  —  The  Scilly  Isles. 

—  Extraordinary  Appeal  on  Behalf  of  Sailors 345 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

PERSONAL  NOTES. 

How  the  "Notes"  are  received.  — President  Garfield.  —  Burden  for  Souls. 
—  A  Specimen  Week.  —  Sermon  1,351.  —  Dr.  Carson's  Testimony. — 
Sermon  1,461.  — Sermon  399.  —  Spurgeon  reduced  to  Sixpence.  —  Sharp 
Pains.  —  Saying  Good-by  to  Son  Thomas. —A  French  Nobleman.— 
Sermon  No.  444.  —  Sermon  No.  86.  —  A  Sea-Captain.  —  Misrepresenta- 
tions. —  Dr.  Livingstone's  Yellow  Relic.  —  Sowing  Seed  in  Servia.  — 
Mr.  Spurgeon  Nervous.  —  Canon  Wilberforce  and  Lord  Radstock.  — 
Christmas  Festivities.  — Hip,  Hip,  Hurrah  !  —New  York  Baptist  Mini- 
sters' Conference.  —  Spontaneous  Sympathy  appreciated 363 


Xvi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES." 

If  the  Cap  fits,  wear  it — Will  Shepherd  and  Joe  Scroggs.  —  Hope. 

—  Jack  Shiftless.  —  Simple  Simon.  —  Hopes  of  Heaven.  —  A  Handsaw 
IS  A  Good  Thing,  but   not   to  shave  with.  —  On  Patience.  - 
Dr.  Diet,  Dr.  Quiet,  and  Dr.  Merryman.  —  All  are  not  Hunters 
that  blow  the  Horn. — Many  a  D.  D.  is  Fiddle-de-dee.  —  He  lives 
UNDER  the  Sign  of  the  Cat's  Foot.  —  A  Good  Word  for  Wives. 

—  Darby  and  Joan.  —  William  Seeker's  "  Wedding-Ring."  —  Old  Blue- 
beard. —  Stick  to  it  and  do  it.  —  Men  with  Two  Faces.  —  The 
Vicar  of  Bray. —  Religious  Deceivers.  —  Hypocrites. — All  is  lost 
that  is  poured  int-o  a  Cracked  Dish.  —  Try.  —  Beware  of  the 
Dog.  —  Heads  and  Tails.  —  Beware  of  a  Dirty  Dog.  —  Snarling  Dogs. 

—  Fawning  Dogs.  —  Puppies.  —  Greedy  Dogs.  —  Yelping  Dogs.  —  Dogs 
that  worry  the  Sheep.  —  Dogs  without  a  Master. —  "Without  are  Dogs." 
A  Black  Hen  lays  a  White  Egg.  — He  has  a  Hole  under  his 
Nose,  and  his  Money  runs  into  it.  —  Drunkards,  read  This.  —  He 
has  got  the  Fiddle,  but  not  the  Stick.  —  Thoughts  about 
Thought. —  Free  Thoughts.  —  Bad  Thoughts.  —  Great  Cry  and 
Little  Wool. —  Mrs.  Too-good.  —  You  can't  catch  the  Wind 
in  a  Net.  —  On  the  Preacher's  Appearance.  —  Never  stop 
the  Plough  to  catch  a  Mouse. — Home. —  Don't  cut  off  your 
Nose  to  spite  your  Face.  —  Like  Cat  like  Kit. —  Very  Igno- 
rant People. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gent.  —  Mr.  Plausible.— Sneering  at 
Religion.  —  He  looks  One  Way  and  pulls  the  Other.  —  Debt.  — 
A  MAN  IN  A  Passion  rides  a  Horse  that  runs  away  with  him. 

—  Every  Bird  likes  its  Own  Nest .  381 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE    BIBLE    AND    THE    NEWSPAPER. 

Ladies'  Dress.  —  Extravagance.  —  Isaiah's  Description.  —  Peter's  Coun- 
sel. —  Covering  Deformity.  —  "  Neat  Handsomeness."  —  Man-Millin- 
ery.—  The  Race  and  its  Spectators.  —  Oxford  and  Cambridge. — 
The  Olympian  Games.  —  The  Cloud  of  Witnesses.  —A  Fox  in  the 
Pulpit.  —  Popular  Caricature.  —  The  Evil  wrought  by  one  Man.  — 
Conscientious  Separation. — Time-serving.  —  Erasmus.  —  Tempt- 
ing Temptation.  —  Review  at  Aldershot.  — The  Unalterable  Flag. 
—  Religious  Sluggards.  — The  Shilling  Religion.  —  The  With- 
ering OF  Unbelief.  —  Unbelief  an  Unhealthy  Plant.  —  Moore's 
Remonstrance.  —  Lord  John   Russell.  —  The  Path  of  the   Pope.  — 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

The  Cardinal's  Curse.  —  Pio  Nono's  Bulls.  —  Pearls.  —  History  of 
a  Pearl.  —  The  Disappointed  Merchant.  —  Fickleness  of  Mankind. 
—  The  Scale-Maker.  —  Short  Weights.  —  Deserters.  —  Temporary 
Alarm  of  Soul.  —  Nominal  Disciples.  —  How  the  Visible  Church  is 
weakened. — "Have  ye  counted  the  Cost?"  —  Best  Preparation 
FOR  THE  Second  Advent.  —  The  Dark  Day.  —  Davenport  of  Stam- 
ford. —  The  Humble  Sister.  —  The  Most  Fitting  Condition  for  Death 
or  Glory 481 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

MRS.    SPURGEON'S    WORK. 

Avoiding  Fulsome  Eulogies.  —  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  Mission.  —  Her  Peculiar 
Ministry.  —  The  Book  Fund.  —  Poor  Ministers  are  the  Rule.  —  "Work- 
ers with  a  Slender  Apparatus."  —  Previous  Testimony.  —  Warm  Grati- 
tude evoked. —The  Clover  Field. —The  Longed-for  Treasure.— 
Pastors'  Aid  Society.  —  Wifely  Eulogy.  —  "  Prince  of  her  Life."  — 
"Red-Letter  Day."  —  The  Lord's  Tender  Care.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
Letter. —John  Ploughman  and  John  Gough.  —  Clothing  for  Pastors' 
Families. —"How  shall  I  praise  Him  ? "— Suifering  and  Service.— 
Living  for  Others.  —The  Good  Old  Corn  of  Canaan.  —  Bookless  Pas- 
tors.—Mrs.  Spurgeon's  Fine  Sympathy.  —  The  Missionary  Working 
Society.  —  Annual  Report.  —  Extracts  from  Letters.  —  Imprisoned 
Music.  —  Sweet  Comfort .     -     •  5^7 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CHARLES  SPURGEON. 
(twin  son  of  c.  h.  spurgeon.) 

Birth.  —  Study.  —  Conversion.  —  Cry  from  Macedonia.  —  Commercial  Life. 

—  Pastors'  College.  —  Call  to  Greenwich.  — Marriage.  — Sermon  on 
Holy  Arithmetic.  —  Trinity  of  Blessings.  —  Mercy,  Peace,  and  Love. 

—  Addition.  —  Multiplication.  —  Practice.  —  Sacred  Penmanship.  — 
Self-Praise.  —  Requisites  for  Writing.  —  Pen.  —  Ink. —Paper.— The 
Readers.  —  Three    Classes.  —  InteUigent.  —  Interested.  —  Inquisitive. 

—  Be  Mindful  of  Little  Things 539 


XVlU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
THOMAS    SPURGEON. 

(twin   son   of  C.   H.   SPURGEON.) 

Known  as  a  Writer.  —  Engraving.  —  Preaching.  —  Sailing  to  Australia.  — 
New  Zealand.  —  Tom  the  Ploughboy.  —  Grape-Shot.  —  Cuts  of  the 
Whip.  —  "  If  I  feel  Moody  I  sing  Sankey."  ■ —  The  Horses  say  "  Neigh." 

—  He  told  us  Nothing  New.  —  Hearing  Young  Spurgeon.  —  The 
Malcontent.  —  What  did  the  Grumbler  look  for?  —  "The  same  Old 
Stuff." — Primordial  Slime. — Old-Fashioned  Theology  played  out. — 
"You  pays  your  Money  and  you  takes  your  Choice." — The  Tale  of 
Calvary.  —  He  's  not  a  bit  like  a  Parson.  —  The  Important  Ecclesi- 
astic. —  Officialism.  —  "  His  Reverence." — The  Non-Parsonic  Brother. 

—  The  Scoffer  won  to  Jesus.  —  Christ-like  Humility  and  Christian  Dig- 
nity. —  Could  not  pray  without  Candles.  —  The  Blanket-Bearer.  —  Go 
and  do  Likewise. — Jesus  for  Me.  —  The  Deaf  Old  Man.  —  The 
Floweret. — ■  The  Bleating  Lamb.  —  The  Sea-Bird.  —  The  Spark.  —  The 
Matron 553 


CHAPTER  XXXH. 

SERMONS. 

Our  Difficulty.  —  "The  Treasury  of  David." — How  to  obtain  it.  —  Un- 
charitable Preachers.  —  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Testimony.  —  The  Bible.  — 
God's  Complaint.  —  Long-Suffering.  —  Its  Author.  —  Who  wrote  the 
Book? — Preachers  who  are  Short  of  Stock. —  Free  Thought.  —  Au- 
thority of  the  Bible.  —  Its  Truthfulness.  —  Mr.  Hume  and  the  Moon.  — 
Bible  Subjects.  —  All  Things  are  Great.  — The  Three  R's.  —  The 
Treatment  which  the  Bible  receives.  —  "So  Horribly  Dry."  —  Who 
hates  the  Bible  ?  — God's  Cabinet.  —  The  Eternal  Name.  —  The 
Name  of  Jesus.  —  Evanescent  Shadows.  —  Systems  of  Infidelity.  —  The 
Gospel  before  Bethlehem.  — The  Gospel  tried.  —  Voltaire.  —  The  Uni- 
tarian's Gospel.  —  Can  Christ's  Name  be  forgotten  ?  — The  Power  of  His 
Name.  —  Whitfield  and  Wesley. — England  may  perish. —  Christ's 
Name  shall  endure.  — Jesus,  Jesus,  Jesus! —  Crown  Him  Lord  of  All!     S73 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1.  Pastor  C.  H.  Spurgeon  {Frontispiece).  pack 

2.  Birthplace  of  C.  H.  Spurgeon 27 

3.  Mr.  Spurgeon  at  the  Age  of  Twenty-one ^d 

4.  Surrey  Music  Hall 66 

5.  James  Archer  Spurgeon,  Co-Pastor 84 

6.  The  Metropolitan  Tabernacle 125 

7.  Benjamin  Keach 130 

8.  Keach  in  the  Pillory 131 

9.  Carter-lane  Chapel 134 

10.  Doctor  John  Gill 136 

11.  John  Rippon  in  his  Youth 138 

12.  New  Park-street  Chapel 142 

13.  George  Rogers 151 

14.  The  Pastors'  College ' .    .  158 

15.  Stockwell  Orphanage  for  Boys 208 

16.  The  Girls'  Orphanage 231 

17.  Infirmary  of  Stockwell  Orphanage 238 

18.  Stockwell  Orphanage  Playground 245 

19.  Colporteur  and  Bible  Carriage 258 

20.  The   Cottage    in  which   Mr.   Spurgeon  preached  his  first 

Sermon 278 

21.  Residence  of  Pastor  C.  H.  Spurgeon 366 

22.  If  the  Cap  fits,  wear  it 384 

23.  A  Handsaw  is  a  good  Thing,  but  not  to  shave  with      .    .  389 

24.  All  are  not  Hunters  that  blow  the  Horn 395 

25.  He  lives  under  the  Sign  of  the  Cat's-paw 398 


XX  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

26.  Stick  to  it  and  do  it 409 

27.  All  is  lost  that  is  poured  into  a  cracked  Dish     ....  419 

28.  Beware  of  the  Dog 425 

29.  A  Black  Hen  lays  a  White  Egg 430 

30.  He  has  a  Hole  under  his  Nose,  and  his  Money  runs  into  it  432 

31.  He  has  got  the  Fiddle,  but  not  the  Stick 436 

32.  Great  Cry  and  Little  Wool 440 

33.  You  can"t  catch  the  Wind  in  a  Net 443 

34.  Never  stop  the  Plough  to  catch  a  Mouse 448 

35.  Don't  cut  off  your  Nose  to  spite  your  Face 455 

36.  Like  Cat,  like  Kit 457 

37.  He  looks  one  Way,  and  pulls  the  other 465 

38.  A  Man  in  a  Passion  rides  a  Horse  that  runs  away  with  him  474 

39.  Every  Bird  likes  its  own  Nest 476 

40.  Mrs.  C.  H.  Spurgeon 517 

41.  Charles  Spurgeon  (Son  of  Pastor  Spurgeon) 539 

42.  Thomas  Spurgeon  (Son  of  Pastor  Spurgeon) 553 

43.  Interior  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle      ......  ^73 

44.  Orphanage  School-Room 221 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Behold,  at  this  hour  our  moral  history  is  being  preserved  for  eternity. 
Processes  are  at  work  which  will  perpetuate  our  every  act  and  word  and 
thought.  Not  alone  the  last  page,  but  every  line  and  letter  of  our  actual 
history,  is  being  stereotyped  for  the  world's  perusal  in  the  day  which  shall 
reveal  the  secrets  of  men.  We  are  not  writing  upon  the  water,  but  carving 
upon  imperishable  material.  The  t^iapters  of  our  history  are  "  graven  with 
an  iron  pen  and  lead  in  the  rock  for  ever."  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


WE  first  introduce  the  preacher  as  he  was  when,  in  early 
manhood,  both  his  manner  and  matter  startled  England 
out  of  her  reverie,  and  awoke  many  sleepers  on  distant  shores. 
A  Bristol  college  man  gives  us  four  pen  pictures  of  Mr.  Spurgeon, 
taken  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  and  kept  ever  since  in  the  album 
of  memory.  To  those  who  did  not  see  the  Evangelist-pastor  in 
his  younger  days,  these  photographs  will  be  full  of  interest;  to 
those  who  have  neither  heard  nor  seen  him,  they  present  the  man 
in  early  life  in  all  the  vigor  and  power  of  fresh  manhood.  After 
seeing  a  picture,  we  become  interested  in  the  subject  and  present 
our  inquiries.  The  antecedents  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  and  his  subse- 
quent history,  will  be  given  later  on.  Remember,  the  pictures 
are  those  of  a  very  young  man,  whose  career  had  already  been 
watched  for  some  time  with  absorbing  interest  by  millions  of 
people.     Thus  the  college  man  writes :  — 

It  was  from  the  lips  of  my  tutor,  who  was  an  earnest  Christian 
man  as  well  as  an  able  scholar,  that  I  first  heard  the  name  of  the 
popular  minister  who  had  even  then  made  New  Park  Street  Church 
famous.  It  was  my  last  year  at  school,  and  I  enjoyed  rather  more 
liberty  than  the  other  boys.  Need  I  add  that,  after  receiving  the 
permission,  it  was  not  long  before  I  was  trying  to  make  my  way 
into  the  pretty,  and  then  newly  built,  chapel  where  Mr.  Hebditch 
preached?  The  place  was  quite  full,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
I  managed  to  ensconce  myself  behind  the  pulpit.  A  few  minutes 
afterwards,   Mr.   Spurgeon  ascended  the  latter,  and  I  saw  for  the 


4  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

first  time  the  preacher  who  was  to  be  the  Whitfield  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  My  recollection  of  the  appearance  of  the  youth- 
ful divine  is  very  vivid.  Already  inclined  to  be  stout,  with  a  face 
somewhat  pale,  and  innocent  of  beard  or  mustaches,  but  often 
played  over  by  a  genial  smile  which  won  your  confidence  at  once, 
with  fearless,  kindly  eyes  that  told  of  the  bold  spirit  and  warm 
heart  within,  with  black  hair  lightly  tossed  off  the  open  brow,  with 
gestures  rather  more  frequent  and  rhetorical  than  those  with  which 
the  great  preacher  now  indulges,  the  hand  being  often  uplifted, 
and  with  that  rich,  round,  full  voice  which  has  never  failed  to 
charm  with  its  music  those  who  have  had  the  privilege  of  listening 
to  it,  I  still  see  and  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon  as  he  preached  that  morn- 
ing at  the  chapel.  The  point  in  the  sermon  which  remained  clear 
in  my  mind  was  the  very  pronounced  teaching  of  the  doctrine  of 
Election,  and  the  preacher's  assertion  of  his  being  at  one  with 
Calvin  and  Augustine,  of  whom,  as  well  as  of  the  doctrine,  my 
knowledge  at  that  time  was  by  no  means  extensive.  At  the  close 
of  the  sermon,  as  Mr.  Spurgeon  stepped  down  from  the  pulpit, 
everybody  made  a  rush  at  his  unfortunate  hand  ;  and  I,  by  poking 
mine  through  the  rails,  managed  to  get  a  friendly  shake  from  it. 
I  have  often  thought  since,  when  seeing  Mr.  Spurgeon  coming 
down  from  other  pulpits,  or  among  his  own  people  at  the  Taber- 
nacle, or  surrounded  by  friends  on  successive  birthdays,  how  much 
he  must  have  suffered  in  that  way  during  all  these  years. 

My  second  photograph  was  taken  one  morning  in  dim,  dark 
surroundings  at  the  back  of  the  gloomy  gallery  at  Counterslip 
Chapel,  when  I  looked  down  upon  a  vast  congregation  below  and 
around  me,  and  upon  the  pulpit  at  the  other  end  of  the  chapel. 
Mr.  Spurgeon  entered  the  pulpit  accompanied  by  the  venerable 
Mr.  Winter,  who  was  at  that  time  minister  of  the  Counterslip,  and 
whose  knee-breeches  and  patriarchal  form  will  be  remembered  by 
many.  The  sermon  left  on  my  mind  a  sense  of  the  joy  with  which 
he  preached  and  of  the  fulness  oi  faith  in  which  he  uttered  his 
message  ;  the  striking  originality  and  the  wealth  of  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  preacher  were  features  which  could  not  escape  even 
such  a  juvenile  critic  as  I  was  at  that  time.  But  I  was  not  a  critic, 
I  was  a  rapt   and  enthusiastic   hearer.     Never  shall   I   forget  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

passage  in  the  sermon  in  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  made  us  hear  the 
angels  harping  with  their  harps,  and  with  a  touch  of  simphcity 
but  great  power  told  us  how  he  always  stopped  in  the  streets  to 
listen  where  a  harp  was  being  played  in  the  neighborhood.  I  still 
see  the  rapturous  look  upon  the  upturned  face  of  the  youthful 
preacher  as  the  light  from  one  of  the  windows  fell  upon  it.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  gave  a  little  more  play  to  his 
imagination  then  than  now. 

Now  for  my  third  photograph.  This  time  I  am  standing  on 
tiptoe  at  the  back  of  the  Broad  'Mead  Rooms,  trying  to  look 
above  a  great  sea  of  heads  at  the  crowded  platform  and  the  young 
preacher,  whom  all  are  so  eager  to  hear  that  there  is  no  little 
confusion  and  hustling  around  the  doors.  But  soon  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's  voice  rolls  through  the  spacious  room  and  hushes  all  into 
silence.  The  Broad  Mead  Rooms  form  a  large  building,  with  a 
somewhat  low  roof,  and  with  side  galleries  rising  from  the  floor 
and  capable  of  holding  between  two  and  three  thousand  people. 
On  the  night  of  which  I  speak,  many  must  have  failed  to  obtain 
admission.  One  instance  in  connection  with  this  sermon  is  perhaps 
worth  mentioning.  Some  seats  had  been  reserved  and  a  small 
charge  made  for  them,  in  order  to  defray  the  expense  incurred 
by  hiring  the  rooms.  This  had  been  made  a  matter  of  complaint; 
and  Mr.  Spurgeon,  alluding  to  it,  remarked  that  he  had  heard  of 
a  lady  at  Exeter  who  had  given  a  guinea  in  order  to  hear  the 
gospel  preached.  The  perfect  simplicity  and  honesty  with  which 
this  was  said,  and  the  very  unconsciousness  of  its  being  capable 
of  being  twisted  into  anything  like  self-glorification,  impressed 
everybody  with  that  utter  losing  sight  of  himself  in  his  work 
which  has  ever  since  been  so  grand  a  characteristic  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's  ministry.  I  may  add  that  at  this  time  the  Bristol  papers 
were  full  of  letters  and  articles  respecting  Mr.  Spurgeon's  preach- 
ing, not  a  few  containing  a  good  deal  of  hostile  criticism.  One 
article,  and  that  in  a  Tory  journal,  however,  stands  out  in  my 
memory  as  containing  a  very  vivid,  and,  I  am  disposed  to  think, 
fairly  impartial  account  of  an  open-air  service  conducted  by  Mr. 
Spurgeon  on  the  quay.  A  storm  came  on  during  the  service,  and 
Mr.  Spurgeon  spoke  of  one  of  the  flashes  of  lightning  as  "  God's 


6  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

spear  in  the  sky,"     This  struck  the  writer  as  being  a  singularly- 
happy  expression  —  a  flash  of  genius. 

My  last  photograph  was  also  taken  in  a  public  building,  in  the 
beautiful  Victoria  Rooms  at  Clifton,  which  arc  said  to  be  capable 
of  containing  some  six  thousand  people.  However  that  may 
be,  they  could  not  have  held  more  than  they  did  on  the  summer 
evening  when  I  heard  Mr.  Spurgeon  preach  in  them.  I  do  not 
think  I  have  mentioned  that  at  that  period  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  in 
the  habit  of  wearing  a  white  necktie  of  the  most  correct  parsonic 
character,  which,  being  of  fair  dimensions  and  surmounted  by  a 
stand-up  collar,  served  with  its  virgin  whiteness  to  at  least  set  the 
beardless  face  in  strong  relief.  I  mention  it  now,  as  it  forms  a 
prominent  feature  in  my  recollection  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  appear- 
ance upon  that  evening,  sitting,  as  I  did,  at  some  distance  from, 
but  directly  in  front  of  the  platform.  The  scene  presented  by  the 
densely  crowded  Victoria  Rooms  upon  this  occasion,  with  the 
platform  filled  by  ministers,  in  front  of  whom  stood  the  earnest 
and  youthful  preacher,  was  one  which  still  shows  clearly  through 
all  the  years  that  have  passed  since  then.  The  golden  glow  of 
the  setting  sun  coming  through  the  window  lent  to  it,  too,  a  sin- 
gular impressiveness :  for  the  text  was,  "Thou  God  seest  me;" 
and  as  we  listened  to  the  heart-searching  eloquence  of  the  speaker, 
the  warm  light  which  flooded  the  room  seemed  almost  to  place  us 
more  fully  within  the  vision  of  the  all-seeing  eye. 

In  his  fifteenth  year  Mr.  Spurgeon  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
his  uncle,  in  which  the  vigor  of  his  mind,  the  boldness  of  his  faith, 
and  the  strength  of  his  will  are  clearly  manifest.  His  theological 
opinions  at  that  early  age  were  decided  and  outspoken.  The  in- 
definite doctrinal  teaching  of  the  pulpit  to-day  may  well  receive 
a  rebuke  from  the  positive  assertions  of  a  child.  In  no  period 
of  his  life  has  Mr.  Spurgeon  declared  himself  an  Agnostic,  —  a 
"  know-nothing."  For  many  reasons  this  letter  is  worthy  of  our 
perusal :  — 

My  dear  Uncle,  —  Dumb  men  make  no  mischief.  Your  si- 
lence, and  my  neglect,  make  one  think  of  the  days  when  letters 


INTRODUCTORY.  7 

were  costly,  and  not  of  penny  postage.  You  have  doubtless  heard 
of  me  as  a  top-tree  Antinomian.  I  trust  you  know  enough  of  me 
to  disbelieve  it.  It  is  an  object  of  my  life  to  disprove  the  slander. 
I  groan  daily  under  a  body  of  sin  and  corruption.  Oh  for  the  time 
when  I  shall  drop  this  flesh,  and  be  free  from  sin  !  I  become  more 
and  more  convinced  that  to  attempt  to  be  saved  by  a  mixed 
covenant  of  works  and  faith  is,  in  the  words  of  Berridge,  "  to  yoke 
a  snail  with  an  elephant."  I  desire  to  press  forward  for  direction 
to  my  Master  in  all  things ;  but  as  to  trusting  to  my  own  obe- 
dience and  righteousness,  I  should  be  worse  than  a  fool  and  ten 
times  worse  than  a  madman.  Poor  dependent  creatures !  prayer 
had  need  be  our  constant  employment :  the  foot  of  the  throne  our 
continued  dwelling-place ;  for  the  Rock  of  Ages  is  our  only  safe 
Hiding-place.  I  rejoice  in  an  assured  knowledge  by  faith  of  my 
interest  in  Christ,  and  of  the  certainty  of  my  eternal  salvation. 
Yet  what  strivings,  what  conflicts,  what  dangers,  what  enemies 
stand  in  my  way !  The  foes  in  my  heart  are  so  strong,  that  they 
would  have  killed  me  and  sent  me  to  hell  long  ere  this,  had  the  Lord 
left  me ;  but,  blessed  be  his  name !  his  electing,  redeeming,  and 
saving  love  has  got  fast  hold  of  me ;  and  who  is  able  to  pluck  me  - 
out  of  my  Father's  hand?  On  my  bended  knees  I  have  often  to 
cry  for  succor;  and,  bless  his  name!  he  has  hitherto  heard  my 
cry.  Oh,  if  I  did  not  know  that  all  the  Lord's  people  had  soul- 
contention,  I  should  give  up  all  for  lost !  I  rejoice  that  the  prom- 
ises left  on  record  are  meant  for  me  as  well  as  for  every  saint  of 
his,  and  as  such  I  desire  to  grasp  them.  Let  the  whole  earth,  and 
even  God's  professing  people,  cast  out  my  name  as  evil ;  my  Lord 
and  Master,  he  will  not.  I  glory  in  the  distinguishing  grace  of 
God,  and  will  not,  by  the  grace  of  God,  step  one  inch  from  my 
principles,  or  think  of  adhering  to  the  present  fashionable  sort 
of  religion. 

Oh,  could  I  become  like  holy  men  of  past  ages,  —  fearless  of 
men,  —  holding  sweet  communion  with  God, — weaned  more  from 
the  world,  and  enabled  to  fix  my  thoughts  on  spiritual  things^^ 
entirely !  But  when  I  would  serve  God,  I  find  my  old  deceitful 
heart,  full  of  the  very  essence  of  hell,  rising  up  into  my  mouth, 
polluting  all  I  say  and  all  I  do.     What  should  I  do  if,  like  you,  I 


8  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

were  called  to  be  engaged  about  things  of  time  and  sense?  I 
fear  I  should  be  neither  diligent  in  business  nor  fervent  in  spirit. 
"But"  (say  you)  "he  keeps  talking  all  about  himself,"  True, 
he  does;  he  cannot  help  it.  Self  is  too  much  his  master.  I  am 
proud  of  my  own  ignorance :  and,  like  a  toad,  bloated  with  my 
own  venomous  pride,  —  proud  of  what  I  have  not  got,  and  boast- 
ing when  I  should  be  bemoaning.  I  trust  you  have  greater  free- 
dom from  your  own  corruptions  than  I  have ;  and  in  secret,  social, 
and  family  prayer  enjoy  more  blessed,  sanctified  liberty  at  the 
footstool  of  mercy. 

Rejoice  !  for  heaven  awaits  us,  and  all  the  Lord's  family !  The 
mansion  is  ready ;  the  crown  is  made  ;  the  harp  is  strung  ; 
there  are  no  willows  there.  May  we  be  enabled  to  go  on,  like 
lions,  valiant  for  the  truth  and  cause  of  King  Jesus,  and,  by  the 
help  of  the  Spirit,  vow  eternal  warfare  with  every  sin,  and  rest 
not  until  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  has  destroyed  all  the  enemies 
in  our  hearts. 

May  we  be  enabled  to  trust  the  Lord,  for  he  will  help  us ;  we 
must  conquer;  we  cannot  be  lost.  Lost!  Impossible!  For  who 
is  able  to  snatch  us  out  of  our  Father's  hand? 

May  the  Lord  bless  you  exceedingly. 

Your  affectionate  nephew, 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

The  remark  of  the  poet,  "  The  boy  is  father  to  the  man,"  is 
strikingly  illustrated  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  case. 

In  the  opening  of  this  year  of  grace,  1882,  in  his  forty-eighth 
year,  Mr.  Spurgeon  wrote  a  brief  article  for  his  magazine,  in  which 
we  discover  the  same  characteristics,  the  same  dependence  on 
God,  the  same  distrust  of  self,  the  same  doctrinal  position  and 
assured  certainty  through  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
We  subjoin  an  extract:  — 

A  great  statesman,  the  other  day,  celebrated  his  seventieth 
birthday  by  a  retrospect  of  his  life :  it  is  meet  that  old  age  should 
look  back.  To  us,  however,  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  it  seems 
more  natural  to  look  around  on  present  circumstances.  Years 
ago,  at  a  younger  age,  our  tendency  was  to  look  ahead,  and  long 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

for  a  great  future ;  nor  would  we  forego  the  habit,  but  still  the 
pressure  of  long  years,  and  growing  burdens,  and  a  sense  of 
diminishing  strength  unite  to  keep  the  eyes  occupied  with  the 
things  of  to-day,  and  the  connection  of  the  present  with  the  infi- 
nite and  eternal.  It  appeared  to  us  when  looking  forward  that 
the  Christian  life-work  would  require  a  power  far  beyond  our  own  ; 
but  now  we  more  intensely  feel  the  certainty  of  that  fact,  and  were 
it  not  for  divine  help  we  should  give  up  in  despair.  If  still  sus- 
tained, after  all  these  years  of  conflict,  grace  must  indeed  have  the 
glory  of  it,  and  here  upon  the  altar  of  the  present  we  would  offer 
the  calves  of  our  lips,  giving  glory  to  the  Lord,  the  God  of  our 
salvation.  Doubtless  divine  love  will  be  glorified  in  the  closing 
hours  of  the  mature  Christian,  but  it  is  emphatically  magnified  in 
the  stern  period  when  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  are  on  the 
laborer,  when  the  novelty  and  romance  of  youth  are  over,  and  the 
nearness  of  the  reward  is  not  yet  vividly  certified  by  old  age.  Of 
all  parts  of  the  stream,  the  hardest  to  ford  is  the  middle :  there 
the  water  is  deepest,  the  current  swiftest,  and  the  footing  least 
secure.  Lord,  hold  thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be  safe.  This  is  the 
prayer  which  oftenest  leaps  from  our  lips. 

"  Thus  saith  the  preacher,  vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity."  We 
have  lived  long  enough  to  experience  the  hollowness  of  earth,  and 
the  rottenness  of  all  carnal  promises.  Our  work,  though  it  be  holy, 
presses  heavily  upon  the  shoulder,  and  we  see  not  all  the  fruit 
of  it  which  we  expected  in  earlier  days.  Many  strong  helpers 
have  been  taken  away  by  death,  and  the  enthusiasm  which  made 
our  earlier  friends  leap  forward  with  their  aid  is  not  repeated  to 
the  full  at  a  second  sound  of  the  clarion.  The  decline  is  only 
apparent  to  fear;  but  apprehension  has  the  eyes  of  a  hawk,  and 
spies  out  the  smallest  discouragement.  The  world  grows  better 
very  slowly:  we  sometimes  fear  that  it  grows  worse.  The  church 
relapses  to  her  former  sloth  ;  the  good  are  weary,  and  the  wicked 
wax  impudent;  the  times  are  out  of  joint,  and  evil  days  are 
threatening.  What  can  happen  better  to  a  man  than  to  go  home? 
Happy  is  he  who  is  taken  from  the  evil  to  come,  or  hears  the  sound 
of  his  descending  Master's  coming  ere  yet  the  shadows  of  the  day 
are  lengthened  to  the  utmo.st. 


lO  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Thus  does  middle  age  prose  when  it  is  under  the  influence  of  its 
most  sombre  hour.  The  ink  grows  thick,  and  the  pen  is  clogged, 
and  makes  black  strokes  and  heavy.  The  subject  should  be  treated 
in  a  more  believing  manner,  and  written  of  not  according  to  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  spirit.  Doubtless  length  of  days  tries  our 
graces,  but  what  length  of  days  have  we  to  speak  of,  — we  who 
are  sighting  fifty,  or  passing  beyond  it?  Half  a  century  is  a  trifle 
in  the  life  of  God.  True,  there  is  a  flagging  of  human  energy,  and 
the  warm  blood  of  youth  cools  down ;  but  our  Christian  life  never 
stood  in  the  strength  of  the  creature,  and  hence  it  cannot  flag, 
since  the  Creator  grows  not  old,  nor  is  his  arm  waxed  short.  The 
same  power  which  begat  will  preserve.  Omnipotence  first  made 
the  believer  rise  into  newness  of  life,  and  until  it  fails  his  life  will 
continue  ever  fresh  and  young.  Well  said  the  Psalmist,  "  All 
my  springs  are  in  thee."  What  if  others  sufi"er  shipwreck,  yet 
none  that  sail  with  Jesus  have  ever  been  stranded  yet.  Purposes, 
plans,  and  achievements  of  men  may  all  disappear  like  yon  cloud 
upon  the  mountain's  summit;  but,  like  the  mountain  itself,  the 
things  which  are  of  God  shall  stand  fast  for  ever  and  ever.  Now 
is  the  time,  in  the  lull  of  natural  energy,  to  prove  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  trees  of  earth  as  they  pass  their  prime  decrease 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  their  fruit:  it  is  a  mark  of  the  trees  of 
grace  that  they  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age  to  show  that  the 
Lord  is  upright.  The  faithfulness  of  God  may  be  relied  upon  to 
work  a  growing  faithfulness  in  his  people.  Never  so  conscious 
of  dependence  as  in  this  middle  passage,  ne^er  so  certain  of  the 
all-sufficiency  of  God  as  in  this  noontide  of  the  day,  we  joy  in 
the  Lord,  and  look  for  even  richer  mercies  than  ever. 

Young  men,  trust  God,  and  make  the  future  bright  with  blessing. 
Old  men,  trust  God,  and  magnify  him  for  all  the  mercies  of  the 
past.  As  for  us,  we  mingle  gratitude  and  expectation  in  equal 
portions,  and  pray  to  stand  in  this  present  hour  faithful  to  the 
Master  in  whose  grace  we  trust. 

Our  valued  friend,  Pastor  Tames  H.  Brookes,  of  St.  Louis, 
author  of  "  Maranatha,"  "  Is  the  Bible  True?"  "The  Way  made 
Plain,"  &c.,  and  editor  of  "The  Truth,"  sent  us  the  following  com- 


INTRODUCTORY.  I i 

munication,  which  we  deem  of  importance,  coming,  as  it  does, 
from  the  pen  of  an  experienced  minister  of  the  gospel  whose 
loyalty  to  Christ  and  the  Scriptures  cannot  be  questioned.  Mr. 
Spurgeon  was  in  his  twenty-eighth  year  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Brookes's 
visit  to  London,  —  the  time  of  life  when  men  usually  manifest  the 
vagaries  and  impetuosity  of  youth,  and  lack  those  marks  of  matu- 
rity which  are  seen  in  later  life.  But  even  in  youth  Mr.  Spurgeon 
spoke  with  the  experience  of  age,  though  with  the  fervor  and 
strength  of  young  manhood.     ~ 

One  of  my  strongest  desires  upon  arrival  in  London,  some 
years  ago,  was  to  hear  the  man  of  whom  I  had  read  so  much. 
This  desire  was  speedily  gratified,  and  under  circumstances  which 
I  knew  would  show  the  weak  points  of  his  character  if  these  were 
prominent.  In  looking  over  a  morning  newspaper,  I  noticed  that 
he  was  advertised  to  preach  on  a  week-day  in  some  obscure 
chapel.  No  one  of  whom  I  inquired  could  tell  me  anything  about 
the  place ;  but  with  the  aid  of  a  cabman  it  was  found,  and  proved 
to  be  a  small,  dingy  house,  that  would  be  crowded  with  an  audi- 
ence of  four  hundred.  It  was  not  more  than  half  filled,  and  the 
few  who  were  present  were  evidently  plain  people. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  was  fifteen  minutes  late,  and  I  felt  annoyed,  sup- 
posing  that  he  took  advantage  of  his  notoriety  and  popularity  to 
consult  his  own  convenience  about  his  appointments.  At  length 
he  appeared,  walking  briskly  down  the  aisle,  and  ascended  the 
pulpit.  After  spending  a  moment  in  prayer,  he  arose,  and  in  a 
perfectly  simple  and  natural  manner,  as  if  he  were  speaking  to  a 
friend  by  his  fireside,  apologized  for  his  tardiness.  He  said  that 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  had  failed  to  be  prompt;  but  it  was 
not  his  fault,  for  he  had  preached  the  night  before  in  some  coun- 
try town,  had  taken  the  first  train  for  the  city,  and  had  hurried 
from  the  station  immediately  to  the  meeting-house,  without  even 
going  home  to  kiss  his  wife  and  little  boys.  Of  course  this  put 
every  one  in  good  humor. 

He  then  began  the  services  by  singing  "  Come,  Holy  Spirit, 
Heavenly  Dove,"  and  I  am  not  sure  that  he  did  not  start  the  tunc. 
However  this  may  have  been,  his  prayer  struck  upon  my  ear  and 


12  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF  C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

heart  as  wonderful  for  its  humility,  earnestness,  directness,  and 
confidence.  His  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  with  his  brief  common- 
sense  remarks  and  expositions,  added  greatly  to  the  interest  of  the 
hearer  in  the  chapter  selected ;  and  the  sermon  that  followed  was 
certainly  one  of  the  best,  in  every  respect,  ever  preached  by  unin- 
spired man.  If  he  had  been  preaching  before  the  Queen  and  the 
nobility  of  England,  if  he  had  been  speaking  to  an  audience  of 
ten  thousand,  he  could  not  have  laid  out  greater  strength,  nor 
exhibited  greater  sincerity,  greater  intensity  of  interest  in  the 
delivery  of  his  message,  greater  concern  for  the  honor  of  his  Lord 
and  for  the  souls  of  his  hearers. 

"  Leaving  us  an  example,  that  ye  should  follow  his  steps,"  was 
his  text,  and  the  teachings  and  life  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
were  held  up  with  singular  clearness  and  fidelity  to  the  truth. 
The  first  part  of  his  discourse  was  doctrinal,  and  the  second  hor- 
tatory, or,  as  some  call  it,  practical,  —  although  it  w^as  all  most 
thoroughly  practical,  because  so  thoroughly  doctrinal.  I  remem- 
ber that  one  man  arose,  obviously  in  anger,  and  slowly  left  the 
house,  but  turned  now  and  then  to  look  at  the  preacher.  As 
he  withdrew,  Mr.  Spurgeon  reminded  him  of  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  and  the  sacrificial  death  of  our  Divine  Redeemer  as  the  only 
hope  of  the  lost  sinner,  and  then  went  on  to  urge  us  to  walk  like 
Him,  and  to  walk  worthy  of  Him,  as  His  friends  and  representa- 
tives on  the  earth.  The  sermon  was  very  searching  to  my  own 
soul,  and  I  determined  to  hear  no  one  else  during  my  stay  in 
London. 

Nor  did  I  hear  any  one  else,  except  one  afternoon  and  one  even- 
ing when  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  not  preaching,  or  when  he  was  preach- 
ing where  I  could  not  reach  him.  I  heard  him  in  Exeter  Hall ;  I 
heard  him,  on  my  return  from  the  Continent,  in  his  own  meeting- 
house, then  just  completed ;  and  I  never  heard  him  without  a  little 
thank-offering  of  my  own.  While  he  was  leading  the  vast  con- 
gregation in  prayer,  pouring  out  his  gratitude  to  God  for  all  his 
manifold  mercies,  spiritual  and  temporal,  I  invariably  sent  up  the 
incense  of  praise  from  my  own  heart  in  the  words,  "  Thank  God 
for  Spurgeon  !  "  Oh,  how  it  comforted  and  strengthened  me  to  sec 
that  brave  witness  standing  there,  often  amid  reproach  and  ridicule 


INTRODUCTORY.  I3 

and  slander,  telling  "  the  old,  old  story,"  and  bearing  faithful 
witness  to  the  truth,  whether  men  would  hear  or  forbear. 

It  was  a  cause  of  regret  to  me,  on  leaving  London  after  a  few 
weeks'  sojourn,  that  I  could  not,  at  least  for  some  months,  listen 
again  to  his  courageous  defence  of  God's  Word,  and  to  his  stirring 
appeals.  But  an  incident  occurred  during  my  absence  on  the 
Continent  that  illustrates  the  wide  sweep  of  the  man's  influence 
for  good.  For  some  weeks  I  was  detained  by  ill  health  in  Clarens, 
at  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Geneva.  One  day  I  climbed  the 
mountain,  and  came  to  a  solitary  cottage  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  village,  and  also  from  any  other  visible  habitation. 
Two  poor  women  were  sitting  upon  the  grass  before  the  door,  one 
reading,  while  the  other  was  sewing.  My  curiosity  was  excited  to 
know  what  book  had  found  its  way  to  that  lonely  and  desolate 
spot,  and  I  asked  the  woman  what  she  was  reading.  She  at  once 
held  up  the  book,  and  I  discovered  it  to  be  a  volume  of  Spur- 
geon's  sermons,  translated  into  French. 

The  last  sermon  I  heard  him  preach  was  in  London,  on  my 
return  to  my  own  country.  The  text  was,  "  At  that  time  Jesus 
answered  and  said,  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent, and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes"  (Matt.  xi.  25).  It  was 
exceedingly  faithful,  as  was  all  I  heard  fall  from  his  lips ;  and  I 
recall  a  flash  of  genius,  as  the  world  terms  it,  which  shows  what 
he  could  do  in  the  way  of  eloquence  and  oratory,  if  he  cared  for 
such  things.  Speaking  of  those  who  are  so  well  satisfied  with 
themselves  and  with  their  surroundings  that  they  refuse  to  bow  to 
the  authority  of  God,  he  shouted,  "  You  will  not  glorify  him?  You 
will  not  glorify  him?"  Then  dropping  his  voice  to  a  low  and 
thrilling  tone,  he  said,  "Yes,  you  will,  and  you  shall.  I  tell  you 
the  groans  of  the  damned  in  hell  are  the  deep  bass  of  the  univer- 
sal anthem  of  praise  that  shall  ascend  to  the  throne  of  my  God 
for  ever  and  ever." 

I  doubt  whether  there  is  a  minister  of  the  gospel  in  Christen- 
dom, who  tries  to  be  true  to  the  Lord  and  to  his  Word,  that  has 
not  been  helped  by  Mr.  Spurgeon's  example,  faithfulness,  and 
courage.     In  my  judgment,  he   is  the  best  preacher,  in  the  best 


14  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

sense  of  the  word,  this  century  has  produced;  and  he  is  so  far 
above  the  sensational  preachers  of  our  own  land,  who  have  at- 
tained notoriety  as  much  by  their  unfaithfulness  to  Christ  as  by 
their  genius,  that  they  are  not  worthy  to  untie  his  shoe-latchet. 
They  have  their  reward  now  in  the  admiration  of  the  crowd,  pleased 
with  that  which  exalts  human  nature  and  dishonors  the  Bible ;  but 
at  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  which  is  fast  hastening  on,  many  of 
them  at  least  will  be  wandering  stars,  to  whom  the  mist  of  dark- 
ness is  reserved,  while  Spurgeon  will  shine  in  the  glory  of  the 
Master's  approval  and  near  his  glorious  Person  for  ever  and  ever. 

No  apology  is  needed  for  bringing  before  our  American  public, 
in  the  present  form,  the  life  and  labors  of  this  well-known,  beloved, 
and  faithful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  universal 
fame  without  seeking  it.  Free  from  selfishness  and  ambition,  and 
without  aiming  at  popularity,  he  has  enshrined  himself  in  the 
hearts  of  thousands,  and  commanded  the  homage  and  respect  of 
millions.  Like  the  late  honored  and  revered  President  of  the  United 
States,  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  a  manly  man ;  childlike  but  not  childish, 
great  but  not  grand,  he  has  taken  rank  as  a  prominent  leader 
and  teacher  without  officiousness  or  presumption  on  his  part. 
His  name  and  labors  are  closely  interwoven  with  the  religious 
history  of  England  in  the  present  century;  and  any  who  would 
acquaint  themselves  with  the  philanthropists  of  the  age  will  seek 
acquaintance  with  this  esteemed  pastor.  The  man  who  has 
preached  for  twenty- eight  years  to  a  congregation  of  more  than 
\  six  thousand  persons ;  the  man  who  is  pastor  of  a  church  now 
'  numbering  over  five  thousand  in  its  membership,  having  grown 
from  comparatively  few ;  the  man  who  has  given  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  during  his  pastorate  to  nearly  ten  thousand  persons 
in  all ;  the  man  whose  sermons  have  been  published  weekly  for 
twenty-seven  years,  and  besides  their  immense  sale  in  England 
have  been  translated  into  many  foreign  languages ;  the  man  who 
has  founded  and  presides  over  a  College  which  is  unique  in  itself, 
preparing  one  hundred  students  for  the  ministry  of  the  Word ; 
the  man  who  is  the  originator  and  director  of  an  Orphanage  giving 
a  home  to  five  hundred  needy  children;   the  man  who  generously 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 5 

devoted  the  testimonial  given  to  him  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniver- 
sary of  his  marriage,  of  over  thirty  thousand  dollars,  to  provide 
an  Asylum  for  a  score  of  poor  widows ;  the  man  who  is  the  author 
of  over  forty  different  volumes,  including  sermons,  commentaries, 
lectures,  and  essays,  the  sale  of  one  book  alone,  "  John  Plouf,^h- 
man's  Talk,"  having  reached  the  number  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand copies,  besides  being  republished  in  America  and  translated 
into  many  European  languages ;  the  man  who  for  seventeen  years 
has  edited  "  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel,"  a  monthly  magazine, 
and  who  has  started  and  still  watches  over  various  other  works  too 
numerous  to  mention,  —  is  surely  worthy  of  our  study  as  well  as 
of  our  veneration.  Dr.  Chalmers  once  wrote:  "Everyman  is  a  / 
missionary,  now  and  forever,  for  good  or  for  evil,  whether  he 
intends  or  designs  it  or  not.  He  may  be  a  blot,  radiating  his  dark 
influence  outward  to  the  very  circumference  of  society,  or  he  may 
be  a  blessing,  spreading  benediction  over  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  world  ;  but  a  blank  he  cannot  be.  There  are  no  moral 
blanks,  there  are  no  neutral  characters.  VVe  are  either  the  sower 
that  sows  and  corrupts,  or  the  light  that  splendidly  illuminates,  or 
the  salt  that  silently  operates ;  but,  being  dead  or  alive,  every  man 
speaks." 

When  reading  the  above,  Mr.  Spurgeon  instantly  came  to  mind 
as  fulfilling  Dr.  Chalmers's  ideal  for  good.  He  is  a  missionary  in 
the  truest  and  noblest  sense ;  a  blessing  spreading  benediction 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land ;  a  light  that  splendidly 
illuminates,  warning  against  the  rocks  and  reefs  of  heresy,  and 
directing  the  tempest-tossed  soul  into  the  haven  of  rest;  the  salt 
which  operates,  preserving  from  decay  the  church  under  his  special 
care,  with  the  tens  of  thousands  to  whom  he  ministers  through  his 
printed  sermons,  whose  faces  he  has  never  seen.  He  is  indeed 
a  living  man,  enabled  through  grace  to  reanimate  everything  he 
touches ;  and  as  a  living  man  he  speaks  out  his  full  mind  on 
every  subject  dear  to  him.  Jealous  for  the  divine  message,  he 
cares  only  for  the  truth.  Without  plausibility,  without  policy, 
without  compromise,  he  ever  seeks  to  expound  the  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth.  From  his  office  as  am- 
bassador he  has  never  been  known  to  turn  away,  neither  assuming 


l6  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  role  of  ecclesiastic,  nor  degrading  the  ministry  as  a  charlatan. 
Such  a  man,  we  repeat,  is  worthy  of  our  study.  The  curious,  the 
sedate,  the  inquirer,  and  the  philosopher  present  their  several 
queries.  What  is  Mr.  Spurgeon's  history?  what  are  his  antece- 
dents? what  is  the  secret  of  his  unwaning  popularity  —  what  the 
source  of  his  increasing  power?  These  are  questions  which  we 
trust  the  reader  will  find  fully  answered  in  these  pages.  That  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  ministry  has  been  appreciated  by  leaders  in  every 
department  of  theology  is  well  known,  whilst  "  babes  and  suck- 
lings "  have  grown  to  maturity  under  his  fostering  care. 

Our  beloved  friend  and  brother,  Bishop  Nicholson,  of  Philadel- 
phia, writing  to  us  recently,  remarked:  "With  regard  to  Mr. 
Spurgeon  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  I  look  upon  him  with  the 
greatest  admiration.  The  doctrines  of  Christ  I  think  have  never 
been  more  fully  and  faithfully  taught.  He  is  a  bold  utterer  of 
God's  will  in  the  midst  of  abounding  latitudinarianism,  and  yet 
he  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  full  of  the  sweetness  and  wisdom  of 
Christ.  His  capacity  for  work  is  something  marvellous.  I  look 
at  what  he  has  done,  and  I  am  simply  amazed  and  confounded. 
He  has  been  Christendom's  foremost  worker  for  Christ." 

Many  ministers  in  our  own  and  other  lands  have  been  refreshed 
and  stimulated  through  Mr.  Spurgeon's  example  and  preaching. 
The  following  testimony  from  a  well-known  pastor  is  only  one  of 
many  which  have  reached  us  from  time  to  time :  — 

"  Though  years  have  gone  by  since  I  listened  to  his  graphic 
presentation  of  gospel  truths,  the  whole  scene,  as  well  as  the  sub- 
jects discussed  and  much  of  the  precise  language  used,  is  fresh 
and  vivid  in  my  memory  at  this  very  moment,  and  the  influence  of 
these  services  has  remained  with  me  like  the  perfume  of  precious 
ointment.  His  evident  honesty,  his  robust  Saxon  speech,  and  his 
charming  simplicity  impressed  me  as  the  prime  elements  of  his 
success  as  a  winner  of  souls.  I  resolved  while  listening  to  him 
that,  God  being  my  helper,  I  would  make  my  preaching  so  plain 
that  no  man,  possessing  ordinary  intelligence,  could  fail  to  appre- 
hend my  meaning.  I  cannot  claim  to  have  followed  the  copy 
perfectly,  for  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  unapproachable;  but  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  follow  after  to  the  best  of  my  ability." 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 7 

Mr.  Spurgcon,  being  a  many-sided  man,  does  not  impress  all 
who  hear  him  in  the  same  way.  Some  are  benefited  in  one  direc- 
tion, some  in  another.  His  joyousness,  as  a  ray  of  light,  enters 
the  gloomy  hearts  of  not  a  few;  his  constant  faith  lifts  up  many 
discouraged  ones ;  his  sincerity  and  honesty,  his  ingenuousness 
and  piety,  and  the  combination  of  all  these  qualities  affect  differ- 
ent persons  in  different  ways.  We  have  met  with  those  who  have 
been  most  benefited  by  Mr.  Spurgeon's  interpretation  and  exposi- 
tion of  Scripture.  Pastors  who  for  years  entertained  their  people 
with  essays  on  moral  themes,  and  sometimes  on  frivolous  subjects, 
have  come  away  from  hearing  Mr.  Spurgeon  with  a  profound 
determination  that  their  preaching  henceforth  should  be  based  on 
the  opening  and  expounding  of  Scripture.  An  esteemed  minister 
testified  recently :  — 

"  I  regard  Mr.  Spurgeon  as  a  wonderful  expositor  of  the  Word, 
—  sound,  spiritual,  inspiring.  I  am  not  a  great  reader  of  sermons, 
but  I  never  read  one  of  his  discourses  without  a  sense  of  solid 
satisfaction.  It  is  a  cause  of  devout  thanksgiving  that  in  these 
days,  when  the  trumpet  so  often  gives  an  uncertain  sound,  a  false 
or  quavering  note  has  never  been  heard  from  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
watch-tower." 

In  presenting  to  the  public  Mr.  Spurgeon's  personal  history  and 
labors,  we  have  undertaken  a  work  which  has  been  upon  our  heart 
for  many  years.  We  are  well  persuaded  that  numberless  carica- 
tures and  garbled  histories  have  misled  many  persons,  and  preju- 
diced them  against  his  teaching.  We  hope  in  some  measure  to 
correct  this  mischief,  not  for  his  sake,  but  theirs,  who  are  the  losers. 
Some  American  writers  have  done  injustice  to  this  noble  man  by 
representing  him  in  a  false  light.  Hobbyists  on  teetotalism  and 
anti-tobacconists  have  made  him  the  butt  of  their  ridicule,  and 
denounced  him  as  an  example  of  intemperance  and  fleshly  indul- 
gence. But  no  right-minded  man  who  has  ever  heard  or  read 
Mr.  Spurgeon  would  for  a  moment  believe  these  slanderous  re- 
ports. Yet  there  are  thousands  of  persons  who  have  been  antag- 
onized against  this  Defender  of  the  Faith,  having  heard  of  him 
only  through  raving  platform  orators,  flippant  story-tellers,  or 
vicious  writers. 

2 


1 8  LIFE   AND   LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

The  motives  which  impel  us  in  the  prosecution  of  this  work  are 
various. 

The  Editor  is  well  persuaded  that  Mr.  Spurgeon's  example  will 
be  an  incentive  to  Christian  workers,  quickening  their  faith,  in- 
flaming their  zeal,  and  encouraging  their  hearts  in  labor  for  the 
Lord.  Many  faint-hearted  preachers  have  listened  to  his  thrilling 
words  with  encouragement;  despondency  and  unbelief  have  given 
place  to  hopefulness  and  faith.  As  we  trace  the  history  and 
development  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  from  childhood,  and  observe 
how  God  makes  choice  of  vessels  sanctified  and  meet  for  His 
use,  though  we  may  not  possess  the  rare  talents  of  this  min- 
ister of  Christ,  we  may  emulate  his  example  in  diligence,  in 
faithfulness,  and  in  loyalty  to  the  gospel  of  our  Lord,  Many 
Christian  workers  would  have  given  way  to  despair  had  not  a 
timely  word  or  a  persevering  example  stimulated  them  to  fresh 
hope.  We  trust,  therefore,  that  in  this  direction  our  book  will  be 
eminently  successful,  and  that  weary  toilers  for  God,  missionaries, 
pastors,  evangelists,  students,  and  all  who  in  the  battle  have  had 
more  than  ordinary  trials,  will  thank  God  for  what  He  can  do,  and 
take  courage. 

We  have  also  strong  assurance  that  the  bold,  clear,  faithful 
teaching  of  the  great  preacher  will  in  some  measure  counteract 
the  ill-balanced,  weakly,  and  sentimental  theories  afloat,  as  well  as 
deliver  from  unscriptural,  hurtful,  and  sceptical  preaching, —  now, 
alas !  so  general.  —  many  disciples  of  Jesus.  When  men  depart 
from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  with  carnal  minds 
seek  to  analyze  the  Divine  Word,  compelling  it  to  fit  into  the  mould 
of  their  perverted  thought,  they  become  impatient  to  regale  their 
flocks  with  their  negative  knowledge.  Such  men,  seeking  fame, 
discover  that  fellow-fools  are  found  who  will  applaud  them  for 
their  folly.  Some  preachers  have  acquired  notoriety  in  this  direc- 
tion, whose  scholarship  and  independent  thinking  is  accepted  as 
undisputed  fact.  But  when  their  foolish  philosophizing  is  blown 
aside,  and  their  castles  in  the  clouds  melt  away  before  the  sunlight 
of  God's  Word,  what  about  their  bewildered  hearers?  And  herein 
is  one  source  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  strength:  he  never  trifles  with 
the  "  book   of  books."     He   is   a  devout  student  and    an  humble 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 9 

reader  of  the  Bible.  He  accepts  its  facts,  its  doctrines,  its  history, 
its  revelation,  without  question.  And  with  all  the  vigor  of  mind 
which  he  possesses  and  the  eloquence  which  he  commands,  he 
declares  his  own  deep  conviction  of  its  divine  origin,  and  thereby, 
through  him,  many  have  been  delivered  from  the  snare  of  scepti- 
cism into  which  they  had  fallen.  Therefore  we  do  believe  that 
the  extracts  from  his  writings  furnished  in  these  pages  will  help 
thoughtful  unbelievers  out  of  the  quagmires  of  every  false  philos- 
ophy, and  lead  them  to  the  Rock  of  Truth,  the  Everlasting  Word, 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh. 

In  addition,  we  have  in  our  mind  the  thousands  of  families 
throughout  the  country  who  are  isolated  from  churches,  or  who 
may  be  surrounded  by  heretical  teachers,  and  prefer  to  spend  the 
Lord's  day  at  home,  than  allow  themselves  or  their  children  to 
receive  spiritual  damage  through  corrupt  doctrine.  To  supply 
interesting,  moral,  and  healthful  reading  to  such  persons  is  a  work 
worthy  of  our  best  efforts.  The  story  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  life,  the 
peculiarities  of  his  ministry,  the  history  of  his  Orphanage  and  Col- 
lege, besides  the  reports  given  of  the  various  features  of  his  labors, 
cannot  fail  to  command  interest.  We  therefore  believe  that  herein 
are  furnished  both  pleasure  and  profit  for  our  readers.  In  the  rural 
districts,  where  books  are  few  and  libraries  not  easily  obtained,  to 
supply  a  book  which  would  be  a  library  in  itself,  is  a  hope  which 
we  trust  will  be  fully  realized. 

Besides,  there  are  merchants  and  business  men  who  need  a  book 
which  will  not  fail  to  beguile  the  tedious  hours  of  relaxation, —  a 
book  which  must  not  be  dull  or  mischievous  in  its  tendencies. 
And  who  has  found  Mr.  Spurgeon  dull?  There  are  chapters  from 
his  pen  which  out-rival  for  pure  wit  and  homely  wisdom  any  work 
extant.  Never  vulgar,  sensational,  or  trifling,  the  humor  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon  brings  diversion  and  help  and  hope  with  it.  The  great 
object  of  his  life  is  manifest  in  all  his  writings,  —  namely,  the  ele- 
vation and  salvation  of  his  race.  His  "John  Ploughman's  Talk" 
and  "  John  Ploughman's  Pictures  "  are  full  of  sound  advice,  keen 
satire,  kindly  suggestion,  and  friendly  warnings.  No  weary  man 
can  spend  an  hour  reading  these  pithy  sayings  without  feeling 
rested  and  benefited.     But  the  mirthfulness  within  these  pages  is 


20  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

not  the  mental  food  provided,  any  more  than  the  spices  on  our 
table  constitute  the  edibles.  There  will  be  met  pages  of  solid 
reading,  which  the  condiments  will  prepare  the  reader  to  enjoy  and 
digest,  the  meal  being  a  source  of  pleasure  as  well  as  a  supply  for 
present  demand. 

The  book  is  prepared  as  a  "  labor  of  love,"  —  love  for  the  man 
who  so  nobly  gives  his  life  to  the  gospel  ministry;  love  for  the 
truth  which  he  so  unswervingly  advocates ;  love  for  the  Master 
whose  religion  he  preaches ;  love  for  those  who  read  these  lines, 
which  prompts  the  prayer  that  it  may  be  sanctified  to  their 
highest  good,  and  that  Mr.  Spurgeon's  words  through  this  me- 
dium may  result  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls,  leading  them 
from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God. 


II. 

ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,    BIRTH. 


A  LITTLE  lone  plant  in  the  forest  had  prepared  a  tiny  flower,  which  as  yet 
was  not  opened  ;  yet  the  plant  had  no  anxieties,  but  waited  its  time.  Could  it 
hope  that  the  great  sun  would  think  of  it,  and  send  his  genial  rays  to  bring  its 
offspring  to  perfection  ?  Yes,  among  the  thick  boughs  the  sunlight  found  its 
way,  and  the  litde  flower  unfolded  itself,  and  shone  like  a  monarch's  crown.  — 
C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THSG.. 

ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,    BIRTH. 


MR.  STEVENSON,  a  worthy  English  minister  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  Church,  has  written  an  exceedingly  interesting  history 
of  Mr.  Spurgcon  to  his  forty-third  birthday.  His  description  of 
the  great  preacher  and  his  collation  of  facts  we  copy  almost 
entire.  Others  have  written  on  the  same  theme,  but  we  prefer  to 
furnish  our  readers  with  Mr.  Stevenson's  condensed  statements 
and  concise  narrative.  We  have  supplied  some  missing  links,  and 
reduced  the  money  accounts  from  pounds  sterling  to  dollars. 
Those  who  have  written  adversely  or  spoken  flippantly  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  know  not  the  man  ;  to  us  who  have  the  pleasure  of  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  him,  it  seems  strange,  that  one  who 
has  given  his  life  to  benefit  others,  should  be  regarded  otherwise 
than  with  feelings  of  gratitude  and  affection.  But  he  has  been 
graciously  shielded,  and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  the 
arrows  of  evil  have  fallen  harmless  at  his  feet.  May  the  Lord 
of  glory  preserve  to  His  Church  for  many  years  to  come  His 
honored  servant ! 

Charles  Haddon  Spurgeon  descends  from  the  Essex  branch 
of  the  same  family.  Early  in  his  ministry  in  London,  he  was 
introduced,  at  a  book-store  in  Paternoster  Row,  to  Mr.  John  .Spur- 
geon, a  descendant  of  the  Norwich  branch  of  the  family ;  and  on 
comparing  notes  of  their  respective  ancestors,  piety,  uprightness, 
and  loyalty  were  found  alike  in  both.  The  same  spirit  of  religious 
intolerance  which  sent  the  immortal  Bunyan  to  Bedford  Jail  for 
preaching  the  gospel,  also  sent,  in  1677,  Job  Spurgeon  to  Chelms- 


24  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    STURGEON. 

ford  Jail,  where,  for  conscience'  sake,  he  lay  on  a  pallet  of  straw 
for  fifteen  weeks,  in  extremely  severe  winter  weather,  without  any 
fire. 

The  great-grandfather  of  Pastor  Spurgeon  was  contemporary 
with  the  opening  period  of  the  reign  of  King  George  III.  The 
record  preserved  of  his  memory  is,  that  he  was  a  pious  man,  and 
ordered  his  household  according  to  the  will  of  God.  From  that 
day  to  this,  the  family  has  never  wanted  a  man  to  stand  before 
God  in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary. 

James,  the  grandfather  of  Pastor  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  was  born  at 
Halstead,  in  Essex,  September  29,  1776.  As  a  boy  he  was  seri- 
ously inclined,  and  whilst  yet  a  youth  became  a  member  of  the 
Independent  church  at  Halstead.  Whilst  an  apprentice  at  Cogge- 
shall,  he  was  accepted  as  a  member  of  the  church  there  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  S.  Fielding.  Following  business  pursuits 
till  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age,  his  mind  at  that  period  was 
directed  entirely  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  in  1802  he 
entered  Hoxton  Academy.  After  two  years'  study,  an  application 
from  Clare,  in  Suffolk,  was  made  to  him  to  try  and  raise  a  con- 
gregation which  was  very  low ;  and  in  this  he  succeeded  so  far, 
that  in  September,  1806,  he  was  appointed  pastor,  and  the  church 
prospered  under  his  pastorate.  The  protracted  ministry  of  Mr. 
Beddow  in  the  Independent  church  at  Stambourne,  in  Essex  (a 
church  which  had  only  four  ministers  during  the  course  of  two 
hundred  years),  having  terminated  in  1810,  Mr.  Spurgeon  received 
a  unanimous  call  to  the  oversight  of  that  church,  which  he  ac- 
cepted, and  in  May,  181 1,  he  was  recognized  as  their  pastor. 
Himself  the  fourth  of  a  succession  of  long-lived  pastors  in  that 
village,  he  remained  pastor  over  the  church  more  than  half  a 
century,  during  which  period  he  was  peaceful,  happy,  and  suc- 
cessful in  his  labors.  He  frequently  remarked,  when  more  than 
fourscore  years  old,  "  I  have  not  had  one  hour's  unhappiness  with 
my  church  since  I  have  been  over  it."  Invitations  from  other 
churches  were  sent  to  him,  but  the  love,  harmony,  and  prosperity 
which  prevailed  between  pastor  and  people  induced  him  to  decline 
them  all,  and  he  remained  true  to  the  people  of  his  choice. 

It  is  a  recorded  fact,  worthy  of  perpetuation,  that  the  venerable 


ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,    BIRTH.  25 

James  Spurgeon  never  preached  in  any  place  away  from  his  own 
church,  but  God  fulfilled  his  promise,  and  gave  him  to  hear  of 
some  good  being  done  to  persons  in  the  congregation.  He  had  a 
large  head,  and  much  that  was  good  in  it.  He  had  a  good  voice, 
and  was  very  earnest  and  practical  in  preaching  the  glorious  truths 
of  the  gospel.  The  great  usefulness  of  his  life-long  ministry  will 
be  known  only  in  eternity.  He  was  known  widely  in  Essex  as  a 
man  of  the  old  school,  —  staid,  quiet,  and  uniform  in  his  dress 
and  habits.  He  was  the  very  picture  of  neatness,  and  in  many 
particulars  resembled  John  Wesley,  especially  in  his  manners  and 
stature.  He  wore  a  dress  cravat,  a  frilled  shirt,  and  had  a  vest 
with  deep  pockets,  as  if  provided  for  large  collections.  He  was 
seldom  without  a  packet  of  sweets,  which  he  gave  generously  to 
the  children  wherever  he  went,  so  that  they  gathered  round  him 
and  attached  themselves  to  him  with  a  firmness  which  riper  years 
did  not  shake.  He  was  always  happy  in  the  company  of  young 
people.  He  wore  the  breeches,  buckled  shoes,  and  silk  stockings 
which  marked  the  reign  of  George  III.,  and  he  really  looked  to 
be  a  venerable  Nonconformist  minister  of  a  past  age.  For  more 
than  half  a  century  his  life  corresponded  a\  ith  his  labors.  His 
gentle  manners,  his  sincere  piety,  and  his  uniformity  of  conduct 
secured  for  him  the  goodwill  of  his  neighbors,  and  he  was  as 
friendly  with  the  parochial  clergymen  as  with  his  attached  Non- 
conformist friends.  He  often  went  to  the  parish  church  to  hear 
the  sermon  when  the  prayers  were  over,  especially  when  the  cause 
of  missions  was  to  be  advocated.  He  was  blessed  with  a  wife 
whose  piety  and  useful  labors  made  her  a  valuable  helpmeet  to 
her  husband  in  every  good  word  and  work.  In  his  last  illness  he 
was  sustained  by  divine  grace,  and  the  desire  he  had  so  often 
expressed,  that  he  might  speak  of  Christ  on  his  dying  bed,  was 
granted  to  him.  He  said  the  gospel  was  his  only  hope ;  he  was 
on  the  Eternal  Rock,  immutable  as  the  throne  of  God.  Those  who 
were  privileged  to  witness  his  departure  from  earth  will  never  forget 
his  joy  and  peace,  and  the  glorious  prospect  he  had  of  heaven. 

John  Spurgeon,  the  father  of  Charles,  w^as  born  at  Stambourne 
in  181 1.  He  was  the  second  of  ten  children,  of  whom  four 
brothers  and  three  sisters  are  still   living.      He   is  a  portly  looking 


26  LIFE    AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

man,  a  good  specimen  of  a  country  gentleman,  and  is  nearly  six 
feet  in  height.  For  many  years  he  was  engaged  in  business  at 
Colchester;  but,  with  so  excellent  an  example  of  a  minister  as 
was  his  father,  it  is  not  strange  that  his  mind  should  have  run  in 
the  same  direction,  though  he  did  not  fully  enter  on  the  ministry  till 
he  had  reached  the  prime  of  life.  For  sixteen  years  he  preached 
on  Sundays  to  a  small  Independent  church  at  Tollesbury,  being 
occupied  with  business  during  the  week.  He  next  accepted  a  call 
to  the  pastorate  of  the  Independent  church  at  Cranbrook,  Kent,  a 
village  of  three  thousand  persons,  where  he  remained  five  years. 

The  popularity  of  his  son  Charles  in  London  was  not  without 
its  influence  on  the  father,  whose  personal  worth  and  whose  minis- 
terial ability  were  not  unknown  in  the  metropolis,  as  he  had 
spoken  occasionally  at  meetings  held  by  his  son.  The  pastorate 
of  the  Independent  church  in  Fetter  Lane,  Holborn,  became 
vacant,  and  was  offered  to  and  accepted  by  Mr.  Spurgeon ;  but 
his  stay  there  was  not  long.  A  sphere  more  in  accordance  with 
his  years  and  position  was  offered  and  accepted  by  him,  and  for 
some  time  he  was  pastor  of  the  Independent  church  worshipping 
in  the  Upper  Street,  Islington.  That  position  he  resigned  at  the 
end  of  the  year  1876.  He  did  good  work  in  that  locality,  and  was 
much  beloved  by  the  people.  His  preaching  was  plain,  earnest, 
and  pointed,  and  he  manifested  an  affectionate  solicitude  for  all 
under  his  pastoral  care,  especially  the  young  people.  There  are 
many  large  places  of  worship  in  the  locality,  and  preachers  of 
distinction  are  numerous  in  that  populous  suburb;  but  even  there 
Mr.  Spurgeon  gathered  a  large  and  important  congregation  twice 
on  the  Sabbath,  to  whom  his  preaching  was  both  acceptable  and 
beneficial.  The  various  branches  of  church  work  were  carried  on 
with  energy  and  fidelity;  and  those  which  required  female  agency 
were  fostered  and  watched  over  with  affectionate  solicitude  by 
Mrs.  Spurgeon,  whose  motherly  affection  secured  for  her  a  wel- 
come in  the  families  of  the  church. 

Mrs.  John  Spurgeon  was  the  youngest  sister  of  Charles  Parker 
Jervis,  Esq.,  of  Colchester,  in  which  town  her  husband  carried  on 
business  for  many  years.  Wherever  she  has  resided  she  has  been 
known  and  esteemed  for  her  sincere   piety,   her  great  usefulness 


ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,   BIRTH,  2/ 

and  humility.  She  is  low  in  stature,  and  in  this  respect  her  son 
Charles  takes  after  her,  but  not  in  features,  in  which  particular  the 
other  son,  James  Archer  Spurgeon,  assimilates  more  to  his  mother. 
Even  to  a  stranger  visiting  Mr.  John  Spurgeon's  congregation,  it 
would  not  be  difficult  to  distinguish  the  pastor's  wife.  She  has  a 
kind  word  and  a  smile  for  all  who  come  in  contact  with  her,  but  is 
perhaps  the  least  assuming  lady  in  the  whole  assembly  of  worship- 
pers. The  prayerful  solicitude  with  which  she  trained  her  children 
has  been  rewarded  by  each  one  of  them  making  a  public  profes- 
sion of  their  faith  in  Christ.  Two  of  her  sons  occupy  foremost 
places  in  the  metropolis  as  preachers  of  the  gospel ;  and  one  of 
her  daughters,  the  wife  of  a  minister,  not  only  assists  her  husband 
in  the  preparation  of  his  sermons,  but  occasionally  delivers  ad- 
dresses to  small  audiences.  Speaking  one  day  to  her  son  Charles 
of  her  solicitude  for  the  best  interests  of  all  her  children,  Mrs. 
Spurgeon  said,  "  Ah,  Charley,  I  have  often  prayed  that  you  might 
be  saved,  but  never  that  you  should  become  a  Baptist."  To  this 
Charles  replied,  "  God  has  answered  your  prayer,  mother,  with  His 
usual  bounty,  and  given  you  more  than  you  asked."  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Spurgeon  made  great  sacrifices  of  personal  comfort  to 
give  a  good  education  to  their  children,  and  the  children  were 
taught  habits  of  thrift  and  self-denial.  The  care  thus  bestowed 
on  their  training  when  young  has  been  to  the  parents  a  source 
of  much  satisfaction;  the  good  results  of  that  care  are  manifested 
in  the  happy  home  lives  of  their  children.  When,  at  some  future 
period,  the  historian  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  and  of  the 
Stockwell  Orphanage  is  considering  the  primary  causes  of  those 
great  enterprises,  the  care  which  Mrs.  Spurgeon  bestowed  on  the 
early  training  of  her  family  must  be  counted  as  a  vahiable  au.x- 
iliary  in  preparing  the  way  for  such  exemplary  conduct. 

The  villages  of  England,  more  than  the  towns,  have  the  honor 
of  producing  our  great  men.  In  the  village  the  faculties  develop 
themselves  as  nature  forms  them,  while  in  the  large  towns  a  thou- 
sand delusive  influences  are  continually  diverting  the  minds  of  the 
young  into  channels  of  danger  and  error.  The  parents  of  Pastor 
Spurgeon  were  residing  at  the  village  of  Kelvedon,  in  Essex, 
when,  on  June  19,  1834,  their  son  Charles  was  born,     llie  popu- 


28  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

lation  of  the  place  is  only  two  thousand  souls,  and  the  resident 
clergyman,  at  the  time  just  stated,  the  Rev.  Charles  Dalton,  lived 
long  enough  to  celebrate  his  jubilee  as  minister  in  that  parish. 
The  Spurgeon  family  belonged  to  the  Nonconformists,  under 
whose  teaching  they  were  all  brought  up.  Charles  and  James 
Spurgeon  were  much  separated  during  their  early  years.  Charles 
was  of  a  larger  and  broader  build  than  James,  and  the  boys  in  the 
village  are  said  to  have  given  them  names  designative  of  character, 
which  also  indicated  friendship  or  attachment.  Charles  had  as  a 
boy  a  larger  head  than  his  brother,  and  he  is  represented  as  taking 
in  learning  more  readily  than  James,  whilst  the  latter  excelled 
more  in  domestic  duties.  Besides  the  brothers,  there  are  six 
sisters  living,  two  of  whom  are  said  to  resemble  Charles  in  men- 
tal energy. 

As  the  children  were  growing  up,  the  father,  like  many  profes- 
sional and  public  men,  feared  his  frequent  absence  from  home 
would  interfere  with  the  religious  education  of  the  little  ones. 
But  happily  for  him  he  had  a  true  helpmeet  to  co-operate  with 
him  in  this  important  work,  and  happily  for  those  children  they 
had  a  noble  mother  who  lived  for  them,  and  sought  to  build  them 
up  in  true  Christian  character.  Nor  has  she  lived  unrewarded  for 
her  pains.  Oh,  that  all  mothers  learned  the  lesson  well !  Hear 
the  good  man  speak  thus  of  his  wife :  — 

I  had  been  from  home  a  great  deal,  trying  to  build  up  weak 
congregations,  and  felt  that  I  was  neglecting  the  religious  training 
of  my  own  children  while  I  was  toiling  for  the  good  of  others. 
I  returned  home  with  these  feelings.  I  opened  the  door,  and  was 
surprised  to  find  none  of  the  children  about  the  hall.  Going 
quietly  upstairs,  I  heard  my  wife's  voice.  She  was  engaged  in 
prayer  with  the  children ;  I  heard  her  pray  for  them  one  by  one 
by  name.  She  came  to  Charles,  and  specially  prayed  for  him,  for 
he  was  of  high  spirit  and  daring  temper.  I  listened  till  she  had 
ended  her  prayer,  and  I  felt  and  said,  "  Lord,  I  will  go  on  with 
Thy  work.     The  children  will  be  cared  for." 

When  just  old  enough  to  leave  home,  Charles  was  removed  to 
his  grandfather's  house  at  Stambourne,  where,  under  the  affection- 


ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,    BIRTH.  29 

ate  care  of  a  maiden  aunt,  and  directed  by  the  venerable  pastor, 
he  soon  developed  into  the  thoughtful  boy,  fonder  of  his  book 
than  of  his  play.  He  would  sit  for  hours  together  gazing  with 
childish  horror  at  the  grim  figures  of  "  Old  Bonner"  and  "  Giant 
Despair";  or  tracing  the  adventures  of  Christian  in  the  "Pil- 
grim's Progress,"  or  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe."  The  pious  precocity 
of  the  child  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  all  around.  He  would 
astonish  the  grave  deacons  and  matrons  who  met  at  his  grand- 
father's house  on  Sabbath  evenings,  by  proposing  subjects  for 
conversation,  and  making  pertinent  remarks  upon  them.  At  that 
early  period  in  life  he  gave  indications  of  that  decision  of  char- 
acter and  boldness  of  address  for  which  he  has  since  become  so 
remarkable. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  and  before  he  was  six  years  old,  seeing- 
a  person  in  the  village  who  made  a  profession  of  religion  stand- 
ing in  the  street  with  others  known  to  be  of  doubtful  character, 
he  made  up  to  the  big  man,  and  astonished  him  by  asking,  "What 
doest  thou  here,  Elijah?  " 

In  1 841  he  returned  to  his  father's  house,  which  was  then  at 
Colchester,  that  he  might  secure  what  improved  advantages  in 
education  a  town  could  supply.  His  mental  development  was 
even  then  considerably  in  advance  of  his  years ;  and  his  moral 
character,  especially  his  love  of  truth,  was  very  conspicuous. 

Spending  the  summer  vacation  at  his  grandfather's,  in  1844, 
when  he  was  just  ten  years  old,  an  incident  occurred  which  had 
a  material  influence  on  the  boy  at  the  time,  and  even  more  so  as 
Divine  Providence  opened  his  way.  Mr.  Spurgeon's  grandfather 
first  related  the  incident  to  the  writer,  but  it  has  since  been  written 
by  Mr.  Spurgeon  himself,  with  the  title  of  "  The  Rev.  Richard 
Knill's  Prophecy."     The  account  is  as  follows. 

"  When  I  was  a  very  small  boy,"  writes  Charles  H.  Spurgeon, 
"  I  was  staying  at  my  grandfather's,  where  I  had  aforetime  spent 
my  earliest  days;  and,  as  the  manner  was,  I  read  the  Scriptures 
at  family  prayer.  Once  upon  a  time,  when  reading  the  passage 
in  the  Book  of  Revelation  which  mentions  the  bottomless  pit,  I 
paused  'and  said,  'Grandpa,  what  can  this  mean?'  The  answer 
was  kind  but  unsatisfactory:    'Pooh,  pooh,   child,   go   on.'     The 


30  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

child  intended,  however,  to  have  an  explanation,  and  therefore 
selected  the  same  chapter  morning  after  morning,  Sunday  in- 
cluded, and  always  halted  at  the  same  verse  to  repeat  the  inquiry. 
At  length  the  venerable  patriarch  capitulated  at  discretion,  by 
saying,  'Well,  dear,  what  is  it  that  puzzles  you?'  Now,  the  child 
had  often  seen  baskets  with  very  frail  bottoms,  which  in  course  of 
wear  became  bottomless,  and  allowed  the  fruit  placed  therein  to 
fall  upon  the  ground.  Here,  then,  was  the  puzzle :  If  the  pit 
aforesaid  had  no  bottom,  where  would  all  the  people  fall  who 
dropped  out  at  its  lower  end?  —  a  puzzle  which  rather  startled  the 
propriety  of  family  worship,  and  had  to  be  laid  aside  for  expla- 
nation at  a  more  convenient  season.  Questions  of  the  like  simple 
and  natural  character  would  frequently  break  up  into  paragraphs 
at  the  family  Bible-reading,  and  had  there  not  been  a  world  of 
love  and  license  allowed  to  the  inquisitive  reader,  he  would  soon 
have  been  deposed  from  his  office.  As  it  was,  the  Scriptures  were 
not  very  badly  rendered,  and  were  probably  quite  as  interesting 
as  if  they  had  not  been  interspersed  with  original  and  curious 
inquiries." 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  Mr.  Knill,  whose  name  is  a  house- 
hold word,  whose  memory  is  precious  to  thousands  at  home  and 
abroad,  stayed  at  the  minister's  house  on  Friday,  in  readiness  to 
preach  at  Stambourne  for  the  London  Missionary  Society  on  the 
following  Sunday.  He  never  looked  into  a  young  face  without 
yearning  to  impart  some  spiritual  gift.  He  was  all  love,  kindness, 
earnestness,  and  warmth,  and  coveted  the  souls  of  men  as  misers 
desire  the  gold  their  hearts  pine  for.  He  heard  the  boy  read,  and 
commended  :  a  little  judicious  praise  is  the  sure  way  to  a  young 
heart.  An  agreement  was  made  with  the  lad  that  on  the  next 
morning,  Saturday,  he  w^ould  show  Mr.  Knill  over  the  garden,  and 
take  him  for  a  walk  before  breakfast:  a  task  so  flattering  to  juve- 
nile self-importance  was  sure  to  be  readily  entered  upon.  There 
was  a  tap  at  the  door,  and  the  child  was  soon  out  of  bed  and  in 
the  garden  with  his  new  friend,  who  won  his  heart  in  no  time  by 
pleasing  stories  and  kind  words,  and  giving  him  a  chance  to  com- 
municate in  return.  The  talk  was  all  about  Jesus,  and  the  pleas- 
antness of  loving  him.     Nor  was  it  mere  talk  ;   there  was  pleading 


ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,   BIRTH.  3 1 

too.  Into  the  great  yew  arbor,  cut  into  the  shape  of  a  sugar-loaf, 
both  went,  and  the  soul-winner  knelt  down ;  with  his  arms  around 
the  youthful  neck,  he  poured  out  vehement  intercession  for  the 
salvation  of  the  lad.  The  next  morning  witnessed  the  same 
instruction  and  supplication,  and  the  next  also,  while  all  day  long 
the  pair  were  never  far  apart,  and  never  out  of  each  other's 
thoughts.  The  mission  sermons  were  preached  in  the  old  Puritan 
meeting-house,  and  the  man  of  God  was  called  to  go  to  the  next 
halting-place  in  his  tour  as  deputation  for  the  Society.  But  he  did 
not  leave  till  he  had  uttered  a  most  remarkable  prophecy.  After 
even  more  earnest  prayer  with  his  little  protege,  he  appeared  to 
have  a  burden  on  his  mind,  and  he  could  not  go  till  he  had  eased 
himself  of  it.  In  after  years  he  was  heard  to  say  he  felt  a 
singular  interest  in  me,  and  an  earnest  expectation  for  which  he 
could  not  account.  Calling  the  family  together,  he  took  me  on 
his  knee,  and  I  distinctly  remember  his  saying,  '  I  do  not  know 
how  it  is,  but  I  feel  a  solemn  presentiment  that  this  child  will 
preach  the  gospel  to  thousands,  and  God  will  bless  him  to  many 
souls.  So  sure  am  I  of  this,  that  when  my  little  man  preaches  in 
Rowland  Hill's  chapel,  as  he  will  do  one  day,  I  should  like  him 
to  promise  me  that  he  will  give  out  the  hymn  commencing, — 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform."  ' 

This  promise  was  of  course  made,  and  was  followed  by  another, 
—  namely,  that  at  his  express  desire  I  would  learn  the  hymn  in 
question,  and  think  of  what  he  had  said. 

"The  prophetic  declaration  was  fulfilled.  When  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  preaching  the  Word  of  Life  in  Surrey  Chapel,  and  also  when 
I  preached  in  Mr,  Hill's  first  pulpit  at  Wootton-under-Edge,  the 
hymn  was  sung  in  both  places.  Did  the  words  of  Mr.  Knill  help 
to  bring  about  their  own  fulfilment?  I  think  so.  I  believed  them, 
and  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  I  should  preach  the  W^ord. 
I  felt  very  powerfully  that  no  unconverted  person  might  dare  to 
enter  the  ministry.  This  made  me  the  more  intent  on  seeking 
salvation,  and  more  hopeful  of  it;  and  when  by  grace  I  was  ena- 
bled to  cast  myself  on  the   Saviour's  love,  it  was  not  long  before 


32  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

my  mouth  began  to  speak  of  his  redemption.  How  came  that 
sober-minded  minister  to  speak  thus  to  and  of  one  into  whose 
future  God  alone  could  see?  How  came  it  that  he  lived  to  re- 
joice with  his  younger  brother  in  the  truth  of  all  that  he  had 
spoken?  The  answer  is  plain.  But  mark  one  particular  lesson : 
would  to  God  that  we  were  all  as  wise  as  Richard  Knill  in  habitu- 
ally sowing  beside  all  waters.  Mr.  Knill  might  very  naturally 
have  left  the  minister's  little  grandson  on  the  plea  that  he  had 
other  duties  of  more  importance  than  praying  with  children ;  and 
yet  who  shall  say  that  he  did  not  effect  as  much  by  that  simple 
act  of  humble  ministry  as  by  dozens  of  sermons  addressed  to 
crowded  audiences?  To  me  his  tenderness  in  considering  the 
little  one  was  fraught  with  everlasting  consequences,  and  I  must 
ever  feel  that  his  time  was  well  laid  out." 

During  the  fostering  care  of  his  aunt  Ann,  —  his  father's  unmar- 
ried sister  at  Stambourne,  —  an  attachment  grew  up  which  was  as 
sincere  in  affectionate  regard  as  that  which  usually  exists  between 
parent  and  child.  This  aunt  had  charge  of  the  infant  Spurgeon 
during  most  of  the  first  six  years  of  his  life.  He  was  the  first 
grandchild  in  the  family.  Care  was  taken  by  his  aunt  to  instruct 
him  gradually  as  the  mind  was  capable  of  receiving  impressions ; 
but  from  his  childhood  his  mind  seems  to  have  been  framed  after 
nature's  model.  The  book  he  admired  at  his  grandfather's,  which 
had  for  one  of  its  illustrations  the  portrait  of  Bonner,  Bishop  of 
London,  was  the  cause  of  his  mind  receiving  its  first  impressions 
against  tyranny  and  persecution ;  and  being  told  of  the  perse- 
cuting character  of  Bonner,  the  child  manifested  a  great  dislike 
to  the  name,  and  called  the  picture  which  represented  the  bishop 
"  Old  Bonner."  Even  at  that  early  period  of  life,  before  he  was 
six  years  old,  he  exhibited  a  marked  attachment  to  those  who 
were  known  as  the  children  of  God. 

Four  years  of  the  boy's  life  were  spent  at  a  school  at  Colchester, 
where  he  studied  Latin,  Greek,  and  French.  He  was  a  diligent 
student,  always  carrying  the  first  prize  in  all  competitions.  In 
1849  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Swindell,  at  Newmarket. 
There  he  learned  to  practise  much  self-denial.  The  privations  he 
voluntarily  submitted   to  at  that  time  showed  how  decided  were 


ANCESTRY,    PARENTAGE,   BIRTH.  33 

his  purposes  to  acquire  knowledge,  and  as  far  as  he  knew  to  try 
and  serve  God.  But  the  struggle  which  was  going  on  in  his  mind, 
preparatory  to  his  giving  his  heart  fully  to  God,  can  only  be 
described  in  his  own  touching  words,  as  recorded  in  one  of  his 
sermons.  Speaking  of  a  free-thinker,  he  remarks :  "  I,  too,  have 
been  like  him.  There  was  an  evil  hour  in  which  I  slipped  the 
anchor  of  my  faith :  I  cut  the  cable  of  my  belief:  I  no  longer 
moored  myself  hard  by  the  coast  of  Revelation :  I  allowed  my 
vessel  to  drift  before  the  wind,  and  thus  started  on  the  voyage  of 
infidelity.  I  said  to  Reason,  Be  thou  my  captain ;  I  said  to  my 
own  brain.  Be  thou  my  rudder ;  and  I  started  on  my  mad  voyage. 
Thank  God,  it  is  all  over  now ;  but  I  will  tell  you  its  brief  history : 
it  was  one  hurried  sailing  over  the  tempestuous  ocean  of  free 
thought."  The  result  was,  that  from  doubting  some  things,  he 
came  to  question  everything,  even  his   own  existence. 

But  soon  he  conquered  those  extremes  to  which  Satan  often 
drives  the  sinner  who  is  really  repenting  of  his  sins.  The  reader 
will  be  glad  to  hear  Pastor  Spurgeon's  own  account  of  his  con- 
version. 


34  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


PSALM    XV. 

Lord,  I  would  dwell  with  Thee 

On  Thy  most  holy  hill. 
Oh,  shed  Thy  grace  abroad  in  me, 

To  mould  me  to  Thy  will. 

Thy  gate  of  pearl  stands  wide 
For  those  who  walk  upright ; 

But  those  who  basely  turn  aside 
Thou  chasest  from  Thy  sight. 

Oh,  tame  my  tongue  to  peace, 

And  tune  my  heart  to  love  ; 
From  all  reproaches  may  I  cease, 

Made  harmless  as  a  dove. 

The  vile,  though  proudly  great, 

No  flatterer  find  in  me  ; 
I  count  Thy  saints  of  poor  estate 

Far  nobler  company. 

Faithful,  but  meekly  kind, 

Gentle,  yet  boldly  true, 
I  would  possess  the  perfect  mind 

Which  in  my  Lord  I  view. 

But,  Lord,  these  graces  all 

Thy  Spirit's  work  must  be  ; 
To  Thee,  through  Jesu's  blood  I  call, — 

Create  them  all  in  me. 


C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


III. 

CONVERSION  AND  PREACHING. 


Conversion  is  a  change  of  masters.  Will  we  not  do  as  much  for  our  new 
master,  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  we  did  once  for  our  old  tyrant  lusts  ?  We  were  very 
ardent  and  obedient  servants  unto  sin,  yielding  our  members  to  iniquity  unto 
iniquity;  shall  we  not  now  be  equally  earnest  servants  of  righteousness  unto 
holiness  ?  Great  Lord,  be  Thou  our  helper,  that  as  we  once  served  evil  with  our 
whole  nature,  we  may  so  serve  Thee,  bowing  our  necks  with  delight  to  Thy 
easy  j-oke  ! —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


CONVERSION  AND  PREACHING. 


SOME  persons  suppose  that  deep  conviction  is  the  result  of 
gross  sin,  but  many  sinners  who  had  never  walked  with  the 
ungodly  have  had  such  a  view  of  the  human  heart  in  the  sight  of 
God  as  compelled  them  to  cry  out,  "  Unclean  !  "  Charles  Spurgeon 
as  a  youth  was  chaste,  moral,  and  guarded  in  his  deportment. 
Yet  in  the  narrative  of  his  conversion  we  observe  how  he  endured 
great  bitterness  of  soul  through  conviction  of  sin.  His  heart  hun- 
gered for  the  Lord,  and  was  not  satisfied  till  he  found  Him.  Thus 
he  narrates  his  conversion :  — 

I  will  tell  you  how  I  myself  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
this  truth.  It  may  happen  the  telling  of  that  will  bring  some  one 
else  to  Christ.  It  pleased  God  in  my  childhood  to  convince  me 
of  sin.  I  lived  a  miserable  creature,  finding  no  hope,  no  comfort, 
thinking  that  surely  God  would  never  save  me.  At  last  the  worst 
came  to  the  worst,  —  I  was  miserable ;  I  could  do  scarcely  any- 
thing. My  heart  was  broken  in  pieces.  Six  months  did  I  pray, 
—  prayed  agonizingly  with  all  my  heart,  and  never  had  an  answer. 
I  resolved  that,  in  the  town  where  I  lived,  I  would  visit  every  place 
of  worship  in  order  to  find  out  the  way  of  salvation.  I  felt  I  was 
willing  to  do  anything  and  be  anything  if  God  would  only  forgive 
me.  I  set  off,  determined  to  go  round  to  all  the  chapels,  and  I 
went  to  all  the  places  of  worship ;  and  though  I  dearly  venerate 
the  men  that  occupy  those  pulpits  now,  and  did  so  then,  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  I  never  heard  them  once  fully  preach  the  gos- 
pel.    I   mean   by   that,   they   preached   truth,  great  truths,  many 


38  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

good  truths  that  were  fitting  to  many  of  their  congregation,  — 
spiritually-minded  people ;  but  what  I  wanted  to  know  was,  How 
can  I  get  my  sins  forgiven?  And  they  never  once  told  me  that. 
I  wanted  to  hear  how  a  poor  sinner,  under  a  sense  of  sin,  might 
find  peace  with  God ;  and  when  I  went  I  heard  a  sermon  on  "  Be 
not  deceived :  God  is  not  mocked,"  which  cut  me  up  worse,  but 
did  not  say  how  I  might  escape.  I  went  again  another  day,  and 
the  text  was  something  about  the  glories  of  the  righteous :  noth- 
ing for  poor  me.  I  was  something  like  a  dog  under  the  table, 
not  allowed  to  eat  of  the  children's  food.  I  went  time  after  time, 
and  I  can  honestly  say,  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  went  without 
prayer  to  God,  and  I  am  sure  there  was  not  a  more  attentive  hearer 
in  all  the  place  than  myself,  for  I  panted  and  longed  to  understand 
how  I  might  be  saved. 

At  last,  one  snowy  day,  —  it  snowed  so  much,  I  could  not  go  to 
the  place  I  had  determined  to  go  to,  and  I  was  obliged  to  stop  on 
the  road,  and  it  was  a  blessed  stop  to  me,  —  I  found  rather  an 
obscure  street,  and  turned  down  a  court,  and  there  was  a  little 
chapel.  I  wanted  to  go  somewhere,  but  I  did  not  know  this  place. 
It  was  the  Primitive  Methodists'  chapel.  I  had  heard  of  these 
people  from  many,  and  how  they  sang  so  loudly  that  they  made 
people's  heads  ache ;  but  that  did  not  matter.  I  wanted  to  know 
how  I  might  be  saved,  and  if  they  made  my  head  ache  ever  so 
much  I  did  not  care.  So,  sitting  down,  the  service  went  on,  but 
no  minister  came.  At  last  a  very  thin-looking  man  came  into 
the  pulpit  and  opened  his  Bible  and  read  these  words:  "Look 
unto  Me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth."  Just  setting 
his  eyes  upon  me,  as  if  he  knew  me  all  by  heart,  he  said :  "  Young 
man,  you  are  in  trouble."  Well,  I  was,  sure  enough.  Says  he, 
"  You  will  never  get  out  of  it  unless  you  look  to  Christ."  And 
then,  lifting  up  his  hands,  he  cried  out,  as  only,  I  think,  a  Primitive 
Methodist  could  do,  "Look,  look,  look!  It  is  only  look !  "  said 
he.  I  saw  at  once  the  way  of  salvation.  Oh,  how  I  did  leap  for 
joy  at  that  moment!  I  know  not  what  else  he  said:  I  did  not 
take  much  notice  of  it,  —  I  was  so  possessed  with  that  one  thought. 
Like  as  when  the  brazen  serpent  was  lifted  up,  they  only  looked 
and  Avere  healed.     I  had  been  waiting  to  do  fifty  things,  but  when 


CONVERSION   AND    PREACHING.  39 

I  heard  this  word  "  Look  !  "  what  a  charming  word  it  seemed  to 
me.  Oh,  I  looked  until  I  could  almost  have  looked  my  eyes  away  ! 
and  in  heaven  I  will  look  on  still  in  my  joy  unutterable. 

I  now  think  I  am  bound  never  to  preach  a  sermon  without 
preaching  to  sinners.  I  do  think  that  a  minister  who  can  preach 
a  sermon  without  addressing  sinners  does  not  know  how  to 
preach. 

On  Oct.  II,  1864,  the  pastor  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle 
preached  a  sermon  to  five  hundred  hearers  in  the  chapel  at  Col- 
chester (in  which  he  was  converted),  on  the  occasion  of  the 
anniversary  in  that  place  of  worship.  He  took  for  his  text  the 
memorable  words,  Isaiah  xlv.  22,  "  Look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye 
saved,"  &c.,  and,  said  the  preacher,  "  That  I  heard  preached  from 
in  this  chapel  when  the  Lord  converted  me."  And  pointing  to  a 
seat  on  the  left  hand,  under  the  gallery,  he  said:  "  I  was  sitting  i?i 
that  pew  zvlien  I  was  converted^  This  honest  confession  produced 
a  thrilling  effect  upon  the  congregation,  and  very  much  endeared 
the  successful  pastor  to  many  hearts. 

Of  his  conversion  Mr.  Spurgeon  takes  delight  in  speaking  on 
every  fitting  opportunity,  hoping  thereby  to  benefit  others.  As 
an  example  of  the  advantage  which  he  takes,  under  the  title  of 
"  A  Bit  for  Boys,"  he  says,  in  "  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel"  :  "When 
I  was  just  fifteen,  I  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  was  baptized,  and 
joined  the  church  of  Christ.  This  is  twenty-five  years  ago  now, 
and  I  have  never  been  sorry  for  what  I  then  did  ;  no,  not  even 
once.  I  have  had  plenty  of  time  to  think  it  over,  and  many  temp- 
tations to  try  some  other  course,  and  if  I  had  found  out  that  I  had 
been  deceived,  or  had  made  a  gross  blunder,  I  would  have  made  a 
change  before  now,  and  would  do  my  best  to  prevent  others  from 
falling  into  the  same  delusion.  I  tell  you,  boys,  the  day  I  gave 
myself  up  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  be  His  servant,  was  the  very  best 
day  of  my  life.  Then  I  began  to  be  safe  and  happy;  then  I  found 
out  the  secret  of  living  ;  and  had  a  worthy  object  for  my  life's 
exertions,  and  an  unfailing  comfort  for  life's  troubles.  Because 
I  would  wish  every  boy  to  have  a  bright  eye,  a  light  tread,  a 
joyful   heart,    and    overflowing  spirits,  I   plead   with  him   to   con- 


40  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF  C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

sider  whether  he  will  not  follow  my  example,  for  I  speak  from 
experience." 

Early  in  the  month  of  January,  1856,  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  a 
sermon  to  his  own  congregation  on  Sunday  morning,  which  is 
entitled  "  Sovereignty  and  Salvation,"  and  it  forms  No.  60  in  the 
second  volume  of  his  published  discourses.  In  that  sermon  he 
says : — 

"  Six  years  ago  to-day,  as  near  as  possible  at  this  very  hour  of 
the  day,  I  was  '  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of  in- 
iquity,' but  had  yet,  by  divine  grace,  been  led  to  feel  the  bitter- 
ness of  that  bondage,  and  to  cry  out  by  reason  of  the  soreness  of 
its  slavery.  Seeking  rest  and  finding  none,  I  stepped  within  the 
house  of  God,  and  sat  there,  afraid  to  look  upward,  lest  I  should 
be  utterly  cut  off,  and  lest  his  fierce  wrath  should  consume 
me.  The  minister  rose  in  his  pulpit,  and,  as  I  have  done  this 
morning,  read  this  text:  '  Look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else.'  I 
looked  that  moment ;  the  grace  of  faith  was  vouchsafed  to  me  in 
that  instant;   and 

'  Ere  since  by  faith  I  saw  tlie  stream 
His  flowing  wounds  supply. 
Redeeming  love  has  been  my  theme, 
And  shall  be  till  I  die.' 

I  shall  never  forget  that  day  while  memory  holds  its  place ;  nor  can 
I  help  repeating  this  text  whenever  I  remember  that  hour  when 
first  I  knew  the  Lord.  How  strangely  gracious  !  How  wonder- 
fully and  marvellously  kind,  that  he  who  heard  these  words  so 
little  time  ago,  for  his  own  soul's  profit,  should  now  address  you 
this  morning  as  his  hearers  from  the  same  text,  in  the  full  and 
confident  hope  that  some  poor  sinner  within  these  walls  may  hear 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  for  himself  also,  and  may  to-day  be 
'  turned  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God  !  '  " 

All  the  letters  he  sent  home  at  that  period  were  full  of  the  over- 
flowings of  a  grateful  heart;  and,  although  so  young  in  years,  he 
describes  the  operations  of  divine  grace  on  the  heart  and  life,  and 
the  differences  between  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  and  the  forms 


CONVERSION   AND    PREACHING.  4 1 

of  the  church,  in  terms  so  precise  and  clear,  that  no  merely  human 
teaching  could  have  enabled  him  so  to  do. 

Brought  up,  as  he  had  been,  among  the  Independents,  his  own 
views  on  one  point  of  church  ordinances  now  assumed  a  form 
differing  materially  from  what  his  parents  had  adopted.  Having 
experienced  a  change  of  heart,  he  felt  it  to  be  laid  upon  him  as  an 
imperative  duty  to  make  a  full  and  public  confession  of  the  change 
by  public  baptism.  He  had  united  himself  formally  with  the  Bap- 
tist people  the  year  before ;  now  he  felt  constrained  to  fully  cast  in 
his  lot  and  become  one  of  them  entirely.  He  wrote  many  letters 
home  to  his  father,  asking  for  advice  and  information,  but  striving 
to  enforce  his  own  conviction  for  making  a  public  profession  of 
his  faith  in  Christ.  At  length  the  father  was  satisfied  that  his  son 
had  no  faith  in  the  dogma  of  baptismal  regeneration ;  that  his 
motives  for  seeking  to  be  publicly  recognized  as  a  follower  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  were  higher  than  those  he  had  feared ;  therefore  no 
further  opposition  was  made,  and  the  necessary  steps  were  taken 
for  his  immersion. 

All  the  arrangements  having  been  made,  the  young  convert 
walked  from  Newmarket  to  Isleham,  seven  miles,  on  May  2d,  and 
staying  with  the  family  of  Mr.  Cantlow,  the  Baptist  minister  there, 
he  was  by  that  gentleman  publicly  baptized  in  that  village  on  Fri- 
day, May  3,  185  i,  being  in  his  sixteenth  year.  He  thus  proceeds 
in  his  letter  to  his  father:  "  It  is  very  pleasing  to  me  that  the  day 
on  which  I  shall  openly  profess  the  name  of  Jesus  is  my  mother's 
birthday.  May  it  be  to  both  of  us  a  foretaste  of  many  glorious 
and  happy  days  yet  to  come." 

Having  thus  publicly  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  God,  he 
was  more  earnest  than  ever  in  his  efforts  to  do  good.  Besides 
having  himself  revived  an  old  society  for  distributing  tracts,  he 
undertook  to  carry  out  this  good  work  in  Newmarket  thoroughly. 
Whenever  he  walked  out  he  carried  these  messengers  of  mercy 
with  him;  he  was  instant  in  season,  and,  indeed,  was  seldom 
out  of  season,  in  his  efforts  to  do  good.  His  duties  in  school  / 
occupied  him  three  hours  daily,  the  remainder  of  his  time  being 
spent  in  his  closet  or  in  some  work  of  mercy.  The  Sunday-school 
very  soon  gained  his  attention,  and   his  addresses  to  the  children 


42  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C,    II.    SPURGEON. 

were  so  full  of  love  and  instruction  that  the  children  carried  the 
good  tidings  home  to  their  parents ;  and  soon  they  came  to  hear 
the  addresses  in  the  vestry  of  the  Independent  chapel  in  that  town. 
The  place  was  soon  filled. 

At  one  of  the  examinations  of  the  school  he  had  consented  to 
deliver  an  oration  on  missions.  It  was  a  public  occasion,  and  in 
the  company  was  a  clergyman.  During  the  examination  the  cler- 
gyman heard  of  the  death  of  his  gardener,  and  suddenly  left  for 
home.  But  on  his  way  he  thus  reasoned  with  himself:  The  gar- 
dener is  dead ;  I  cannot  restore  his  life ;  I  will  return  and  hear 
what  the  young  usher  has  to  say  on  missions.  He  returned,  heard 
the  oration,  and  was  pleased  to  show  his  approval  by  presenting 
Mr.  Spurgeon  with  a  sovereign. 

Having  at  once  identified  himself  as  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  in  Cambridge,  he  soon  found  occupation  suitable  to  his 
mind.  His  addresses  to  children,  and  afterwards  to  parents  and 
children,  had  produced  a  love  of  the  work,  and  he  soon  was 
called  to  exhort  a  village  congregation.  He  was  then  sixteen 
years  old.  Connected  w^ith  the  Baptist  church  meeting  in  St. 
Andrew's  Street,  Cambridge,  formerly  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  late  learned  Robert  Hall,  there  existed  a  society  entitled  "  The 
Lay  Preachers'  Association."  Although  so  young  in  years,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  was  accepted  as  a  member  of  this  association.  Here  he 
at  once  found  the  occupation  which  his  mind  most  desired;  and 
he  was  soon  appointed  to  address  a  congregation. 

As  this  was  one  of  the  most  important  steps  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
life,  the  reader  will  be  glad  to  learn  from  his  own  pen  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  his  first  attempted  sermon.  In  introducing 
the  text,  "  Unto  you  therefore  which  believe,  He  is  precious," 
I  Peter  ii.  7,  Mr.  Spurgeon  remarks,  in  1873:  "I  remember  well 
that,  more  than  twenty-two  years  ago,  the  first  attempted  sermon 
that  I  ever  made  w^as  from  this  text.  I  had  been  asked  to  walk 
out  to  the  village  of  Taversham,  about  four  miles  from  Cambridge, 
where  I  then  lived,  to  accompany  a  young  man  whom  I  supposed 
to  be  the  preacher  for  the  evening,  and  on  the  way  I  said  to  him 
that  I  trusted  God  would  bless  him  in  his  labors.  '  Oh,  dear,'  said 
he,  '  I  never  preached  in  my  life ;   I  never  thought  of  doing  such 


CONVERSION   AND    PREACHING.  43 

a  thing.  I  was  asked  to  walk  with  you,  and  I  sincerely  hope  God 
will  bless  YOU  in  VOUR  preaching.'  'Nay,'  said  I,  'but  I  never 
preached,  and  I  don't  know  that  I  could  do  anything  of  the  sort.' 
We  walked  together  till  we  came  to  the  place,  my  inmost  soul 
being  all  in  a  trouble  as  to  what  would  happen.  When  we  found 
the  congregation  assembled,  and  no  one  else  there  to  speak  of 
Jesus,  though  I  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  as  I  found  that  I 
was  expected  to  preach,  I  did  preach,  and  the  text  was  that  just 
given." 

Considering  the  results  w^iich  have  followed  that  sermon,  and 
that  the  preacher  is  now  the  author  of  twenty-seven  large  volumes 
of  published  sermons,  and  that  nearly  two  thousand  of  his  sermons 
have  in  various  forms  been  printed  since  that  day,  it  will  be  inter- 
esting to  glance  at  some  of  the  incidents  belonging  to  that  early 
period  of  his  ministry.  In  the  summer  of  1875,  from  inquiries 
made  in  the  locality,  a  correspondent  of  the  "  Baptist "  newspaper 
reports  as  follows  :  — 

"  A  gentleman  informed  me  that  he  heard  Mr.  Spurgeon  preach 
his  first  sermon  when  about  sixteen  years  of  age ;  and  he  then 
read,  prayed,  and  expounded  the  Word,  being  attired  in  a  round 
jacket  and  broad  turn-down  collar,  such  as  I  remember  to  have 
been  in  fashion  at  that  period. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  then  living  near  Cambridge,  and  his  mode 
of  preaching  afforded  promise  that  he  would  become  a  powerful 
and  popular  preacher. 

"  Mr.  C,  the  schoolmaster  of  the  village  in  1850,  was  impressed 
with  the  precocious  talent  of  the  young  preacher,  and  at  his  style 
of  preaching." 

Having  once  entered  on  this  most  solemn  duty,  and  finding 
acceptance  with  the  people,  he  laid  himself  out  for  one  service 
every  evening,  after  attending  to  his  duties  in  school  during  the 
day. 

From  an  aged  and  experienced  Christian,  who  heard  Mr.  Spur- 
geon preach  before  his  call  to  London,  we  learn  that  his  addresses 
were  very  instructive,  and  often  included  illustrations  derived  from 
history,  geography,  astronomy,  and  from  other  branches  of  school 
occupation,    evidently   adapted    from    his    daily   duties,   and    thus 


44  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

made  to  serve  as  instruments  in  religion,  as  well  as  in  training  and 
informing  the  mind. 

His  early  ministry  was  not  only  gratuitous,  but  often  attended 
with  demands  on  his  small  salary,  which  he  willingly  gave  to  God, 
—  not  to  be  seen  of  men,  did  he  help  the  needy. 

In  some  of  the  thirteen  village  stations  around  Cambridge  and 
Waterbeach,  to  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  devoted  all  his  evenings,  the 
preaching  was  held  in  a  cottage,  in  others  a  chapel,  and  occasion- 
ally the  open  Common  could  furnish  the  accommodation  required. 
At  the  village  of  Waterbeach,  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  received  in  a 
marked  manner  of  approval.  In  most  of  the  places  in  which  he 
had  preached  the  effect  was  very  much  alike,  in  the  large  numbers 
attracted  to  hear  the  Word  of  God,  and  in  the  success  which  God 
was  pleased  to  bestow  on  his  labors.  Even  at  that  early  period 
of  his  ministerial  career,  invitations  to  preach  special  sermons  in 
towns  and  villages  at  a  distance  soon  rapidly  increased.  At 
Waterbeach,  however,  the  little  church  saw  in  the  young  man  a 
suitability  to  their  wants,  and  they  gave  him  an  invitation  to 
become  their  pastor.  He  was  well  received  by  the  people,  and 
soon  became  quite  popular.  During  the  few  months  of  his  pas- 
torate there,  the  church  members  w^ere  increased  from  forty  to 
nearly  one  hundred. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  has  himself  supplied  an  interesting  reminiscence 
of  his  ministry  at  that  village,  which  is  worth  preserving:  — 

"  When  we  had  just  commenced  our  youthful  pastorate  at 
Waterbeach,  in  1852,  Cornelius  Elven,  as  a  man  of  mark  in  that 
region,  was  requested  to  preach  the  anniversary  sermons  in  our 
little  thatched  meeting-house,  and  right  well  we  remember  his 
hearty  compliance  with  our  desire.  We  met  at  the  station  as  he 
alighted  from  a  third-class  carriage  which  he  had  chosen  in  order 
to  put  the  friends  to  the  least  possible  expense  for  his  travelling. 
His  bulk  was  stupendous,  and  one  soon  saw  that  his  heart  was  as 
large  in  proportion  as  his  body.  He  gave  us  much  sage  and  holy 
advice  during  the  visit,  which  came  to  us  with  much  the  same 
weight  as  Paul's  words  came  to  Timothy.  He  bade  us  study  hard, 
and  keep  abreast  of  the  foremost  Christians  in  our  little  church, 
adding  as  a  reason,  that  if  these  men,  either  in  their  knowledge 


CONVERSION   AND    PREACHING.  45 

of  Scripture  or  their  power  to  edify  the  people,  once  outstrip  you, 
the  temptation  will  arise  among  them  to  be  dissatisfied  with  your 
ministry ;  and,  however  good  they  are,  they  will  feel  their  superi- 
ority, and  others  will  perceiv^e  it  too,  and  then  your  place  in  the 
church  will  become  very  difficult  to  hold.  His  sermons  were  very 
homely,  and  pre-eminently  practical.  He  told  anecdotes  of  the  use- 
fulness of  addressing  individuals  one  by  one  about  their  souls." 

It  has  been  remarked  a  hundred  times,  by  those  not  well  in- 
formed on  the  matter,  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  an  uneducated  man, 
and  had  no  college  instruction.  The  experience  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century  has  demonstrated  how  erroneous  were  these  remarks. 
Is  there  in  England  a  man  of  education  who  has  done  more  for 
the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  by  the  publication  of 
numerous  valuable  theological  and  instructive  books  than  Mr. 
Spurgeon?     Let  the  list  of  his  works  determine. 

On  the  question  of  not  going  to  college  there  is  also  some  mis- 
conception. The  exact  facts  are  worthy  of  being  placed  on  record. 
Mr.  Spurgeon  has  himself  so  clearly  stated  the  case  in  an  article 
he  wrote  some  time  ago  in  his  own  magazine,  that  the  reader  will 
be  glad  to  see  it  here ;   it  is  curious  and  interesting :  — 

"  Soon  after  I  had  begun,  in  1852,  to  preach  the  Word  in  Water- 
beach,  I  was  strongly  advised  by  my  father  and  others  to  enter 
Stepney,  now  Regent's  Park  College,  to  prepare  more  fully  for 
the  ministry.  Knowing  that  learning  is  never  an  incumbrance 
and  is  often  a  great  means  of  usefulness,  I  felt  inclined  to  avail 
myself  of  the  opportunity  of  attaining  it,  although  I  believed  I 
might  be  useful  without  a  college  training,  I  consented  to  the 
opinion  of  friends,  that  I  should  be  more  useful  with  it.  Dr. 
Angus,  the  tutor  of  the  college,  visited  Cambridge,  where  I  then 
resided,  and  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  meet  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Macmillan,  the  publisher.  Thinking  and  praying  over  the 
matter,  I  entered  the  house  at  exactly  the  time  appointed,  and 
was  shown  into  a  room,  where  I  waited  patiently  for  a  couple  of 
hours,  feeling  too  much  impressed  with  my  own  insignificance  and 
the  greatness  of  the  tutor  from  London  to  venture  to  ring  the 
bell  and  inquire  the  cause  of  the  unreasonably  long  delay. 

"  At  last,  patience  having  had  her  perfect  work,  the  bell  was 


46  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

set  in  motion,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  servant,  the  waiting  young 
man  of  eighteen  was  informed  that  the  doctor  had  tarried  in 
another  room,  and  could  stay  no  longer,  so  had  gone  off  by  train 
to  London.  The  stupid  girl  had  given  no  information  to  the 
family  that  any  one  called  and  had  been  shown  into  the  drawing- 
room,  consequently  the  meeting  never  came  about,  although 
designed  by  both  parties.  I  was  not  a  little  disappointed  at  the 
moment;  but  have  a  thousand  times  since  then  thanked  the  Lord 
very  heartily  for  the  strange  providence  which  forced  my  steps 
into  another  and  far  better  path. 

"  Still  holding  to  the  idea  of  entering  the  Collegiate  Institution, 
I  thought  of  writing  and  making  an  immediate  application  ;  but 
this  was  not  to  be.  That  afternoon,  having  to  preach  at  a  village 
station,  I  walked  slowly  in  a  meditating  frame  of  mind  over  Mid- 
summer Common  to  the  little  wooden  bridge  which  leads  to 
Chesterton,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  common  I  was  startled  by  what 
seemed  to  me  to  be  a  loud  voice,  but  which  may  have  been  a 
singular  illusion :  whichever  it  was,  the  impression  it  made  on  my 
mind  was  most  vivid ;  I  seemed  very  distinctly  to  hear  the  words, 
'  Seekest  thou  great  things  for  thyself,  seek  them  not !  '  This  led 
me  to  look  at  my  position  from  a  different  point  of  view,  and  to 
challenge  my  motives  and  intentions.  I  remembered  my  poor 
but  loving  people  to  whom  I  ministered,  and  the  souls  which  had 
been  given  me  in  my  humble  charge ;  and  although  at  that  time 
I  anticipated  obscurity  and  jDOverty  as  the  result  of  the  resolve, 
yet  I  did  there  and  then  renounce  the  offer  of  collegiate  instruc- 
tion, determining  to  abide  for  a  season,  at  least,  with  my  people, 
and  to  remain  preaching  the  Word  so  long  as  I  had  strength  to 
do  it.  Had  it  not  been  for  those  words,  I  had  not  been  where  I 
am  now.  Although  the  ephod  is  no  longer  worn  by  a  ministering 
priest,  the  Lord  guides  His  people  by  His  wisdom,  and  orders  all 
their  paths  in  love ;  and  in  times  of  perplexity,  by  ways  myste- 
rious and  remarkable,  He  says  to  them :  '  This  is  the  way ;  walk 
ye  in  it.'  " 

One  or  two  extracts  from  his  letters,  written  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  desirable  to  give  to  show  how  anxiously  the  matter  was  con- 
sidered.    In   his   reply  to   his   father,  dated    March   9,    1852,  Mr. 


CONVERSION    AND    I'REACHING.  47 

Spurgeon  writes :  "  I  have  all  along  had  an  aversion  to  college, 
and  nothing  but  a  feeling  that  I  must  not  consult  myself,  but  Jesus, 
could  have  made  me  think  of  it.  It  appears  to  my  friends  at 
Cambridge,  that  it  is  my  duty  to  remain  with  my  dear  people  at 
VVaterbeach ;  so  say  the  church  there  unanimously,  and  so  say 
three  of  our  deacons  at  Cambridge." 

During  the  summer  his  decision  was  taken,  in  the  way  previ- 
ously related ;  and  in  a  letter  he  sent  to  his  mother  in  November 
following,  he  says :  "  I  am  more  and  more  glad  that  I  never  went 
to  college.  God  sends  such  sunshine  on  my  path,  such  smiles  of 
grace,  that  I  cannot  regret  if  I  have  forfeited  all  my  prospects  for 
it.  I  am  conscious  I  held  back  from  love  to  God  and  His  cause ; 
and  I  had  rather  be  poor  in  His  service  than  rich  in  my  own.  I 
have  all  that  heart  can  wish  for;  yea,  God  giveth  more  than  my 
desire.  My  congregation  is  as  great  and  loving  as  ever.  During 
all  the  time  I  have  been  at  Waterbeach,  I  have  had  a  different 
house  for  my  home  every  day.  Fifty-two  families  have  thus  taken 
me  in ;  and  I  have  still  six  other  invitations  not  yet  accepted. 
Talk  about  the  people  not  caring  for  me  because  they  give  me  so 
little!  I  dare  tell  anybody  under  heaven  'tis  false!  They  do  all 
they  can.  Our  anniversary  passed  off  grandly  ;  six  were  baptized ; 
crowds  on  crowds  stood  by  the  river ;  the  chapel  afterwards  was 
crammed  both  to  the  tea  and  the  sermon." 

By  these  and  other  exercises  of  mind,  God  was  preparing  his 
young  servant  for  greater  plans  of  usefulness  and  a  wider  sphere 
of  action. 

The  following  verses  were  written  by  Mr.  Spurgeon,  at  the  age 
of  eighteen:  — 

IMMANUEL. 

When  once  I  mourned  a  load  of  sin  ; 
When  conscience  felt  a  wound  within; 
When  all  my  works  were  thrown  away ; 
When  on  my  knees  I  knelt  to  pray. 

Then,  blissful  hour,  remembered  well, 

I  learned  Thy  love,  Immanuel. 

When  storms  of  sorrow  toss  my  soul ; 
When  waves  of  care  around  me  roll ; 


48  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

When  comforts  sink,  when  joys  shall  flee  ; 

When  hopeless  griefs  shall  gape  for  me, 

One  word  the  tempest's  rage  shall  quell  — 
That  word,  Thy  name,  Immanuel. 

When  for  the  truth  I  suffer  shame ; 

When  foes  pour  scandal  on  my  name ; 

When  cruel  taunts  and  jeers  abound  ; 

When  "  Bulls  of  Bashan  "  gird  me  round, 
Secure  within  Thy  tower  1  '11  dwell  — 
That  tower,  Thy  grace,  Immanuel. 

When  hell  enraged  lifts  up  her  roar  ; 

When  Satan  stops  my  path  before ; 

When  fiends  rejoice  and  wait  my  end  ; 

When  legioned  hosts  their  arrows  send. 
Fear  not,  my  soul,  but  hurl  at  hell. 
Thy  battle-cry,  Immanuel. 

When  down  the  hill  of  life  I  go ; 

When  o'er  my  feet  death's  waters  flow ; 

When  in  the  deep'ning  flood  I  sink; 

When  friends  stand  weeping  on  the  brink, 
I  '11  mingle  with  my  last  farewell 
Thy  lovely  name,  Immanuel. 

When  tears  are  banished  from  mine  eye  ; 

When  fairer  worlds  than  these  are  nigh ; 

When  heaven  shall  fill  my  ravished  sight; 

When  I  shall  bathe  in  sweet  delight, 
One  joy  all  joys  shall  far  excel, 
To  see  Thy  face,  Immanuel. 


IV. 
CALL  TO    LONDON. 


James  1.  once  said  of  armor,  that  ''it  was  an  excellent  invention;  for  it  not 
only  saved  the  life  of  the  wearer,  but  it  hindered  him  from  doing  harm  to  any- 
body else."  Equally  destructive  to  all  usefulness  is  that  excessive  prudence 
upon  which  some  professors  pride  themselves  ;  not  onlv  do  they  escape  all 
persecution,  but  they  are  never  able  to  strike  a  blow,  much  less  to  fight  a  battle 
for  the  Lord  Jesus.  —  C.  H.   Spurgeon. 


CALL    TO    LONDON. 


THE  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Cambridge  Union  of  Sunday- 
schools  in  1853  was  held  at  Cambridge,  on  which  occasion 
Mr.  Spurgeon  was  called  upon  to  speak.  The  part  he  took  was 
of  remarkable  significance.  There  was  nothing  in  his  manner  or 
his  remarks  which  was  specially  attractive  to  his  audience ;  but 
there  was  an  unseen  agency  at  work  with  the  speaker  as  well  as 
in  the  audience.  There  was  present  at  that  meeting  a  gentleman 
from  Essex,  on  whose  mind  the  address  delivered  by  Mr.  Spur- 
geon made  a  lasting  impression.  Shortly  afterwards  he  met  in 
London  with  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  Baptist  church  of  New 
Park  Street,  Southwark,  a  church  which  had  once  flourished  like 
the  ancient  cedars  of  Lebanon,  but  which  was  then  so  far  shorn 
of  its  former  glory  as  to  give  cause  of  serious  consideration. 
Anxiously  did  the  thoughtful  deacon  tell  his  tale  of  a  scattered 
church  and  a  diminished  congregation.  Fresh  upon  the  mind  of 
his  hearer  was  the  effect  of  the  speech  of  the  young  minister  at 
Cambridge,  and  he  ventured  to  speak  of  the  youthful  evangelist 
of  Waterbeach  as  a  minister  likely  to  be  the  means  of  reviving 
interest  in  the  declining  church  at  New  Park  Street.  The  two 
friends  separated,  the  deacon  not  much  impressed  with  what  he 
had  heard ;   and  things  grew  worse. 

But  finally  a  correspondence  was  commenced  between  Deacon 
James  Low  and  Mr.  Spurgeon,  which  soon  resulted  in  the  latter 
receiving  an  invitation  to  come  to  London  and  preach  before  them 
in  their  large  chapel.     The  work  was  altogether  of  God,  man  only 


52  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

made  the  arrangements.  The  motto  of  JuHus  Caesar  may  be 
modified  to  express  the  results  of  the  visit:  Mr.  Spurgeon  came; 
he  preached  ;   he  conquered. 

For  some  months  the  pulpit  had  been  vacant,  the  pews  forsaken, 
the  aisles  desolate,  and  the  exchequer  empty.  Decay  had  set  in 
so  seriously  that  the  deacons  lost  heart,  and,  until  Mr.  Spurgeon 
arrived,  the  cause  seemed  hopeless.  In  the  autumn  of  1853  he 
first  occupied  New  Park-street  pulpit.  The  chapel,  capable  of 
holding  twelve  hundred  people,  had  about  two  hundred  occupants 
at  the  first  service.  The  preacher  was  a  young  man  who  had  just 
passed  his  nineteenth  year.  In  his  sermon  he  spoke  with  the 
freedom  and  boldness  which  evinced  that  he  believed  what  he 
preached,  and  believed  that  his  message  was  from  God.  Some 
were  disappointed ;  others  resolved  to  oppose,  and  did  oppose ; 
but  by  far  the  greater  proportion  were  disposed  to  hear  him  again. 
The  result  of  the  first  sermon  was  proved,  in  a  few  hours,  to  have 
been  a  success.  The  evening  congregation  was  greatly  increased, 
partly  from  curiosity,  partly  from  the  youth  of  the  preacher  and  his 
unusual  style  of  address.  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  again  invited  to  take 
the  pulpit  on  another  Sunday  as  early  as  possible,  for  a  feeling  of 
excitement  was  created,  and  it  required  to  be  satisfied.  After 
consulting  with  his  church  at  Waterbeach,  he  arranged  to  supply 
the  New  Park-street  pulpit  during  three  alternate  Lord's  days. 
The  desire  to  hear  the  young  preacher  having  greatly  extended, 
it  was  determined  to  invite  Mr.  Spurgeon  from  his  rustic  retreat 
to  undertake  the  heavy  responsibility  of  pastor  of  one  of  the 
most  ancient  Baptist  churches  in  London,  and  formerly  the  most 
influential ;   and  he  entered   on  that  duty  in  the  month  of  April, 

1854. 

We  are  permitted  to  give  two  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  letters  to  the 
church  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  which  will  most  clearly 
state  the  facts  relating  to  his  coming  to  London.  The  first  of  the 
following  letters  was  written  to  Deacon  Low  shortly  before  Mr. 
Spurgeon  left  Cambridge,  and  the  second  is  dated  from  his  first 
lodgings  immediately  after  his  permanent  arrival  in  London. 


CALL  TO    LONDON.  53 

No.  60  Park  Street,  Cambridge,  Jan.  27,  1854. 

To  James  Low,  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  cannot  help  feeling  intense  gratification  at 
the  unanimity  of  the  church  at  New  Park  Street  in  relation  to 
their  invitation  to  me.  Had  I  been  uncomfortable  in  my  present 
situation,  I  should  have  felt  unmixed  pleasure  at  the  prospect 
Providence  seems  to  open  up  before  me ;  but  having  a  devoted  and 
loving  people,  I  feel  I  know  not  how. 

One  thing  I  know,  namely,  that  I  must  soon  be  severed  from 
them  by  necessity,  for  they  do  not  raise  sufficient  to  maintain  me 
in  comfort.  Plad  they  done  so  I  should  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
any  request  to  leave  them,  at  least  for  the  present.  But  now  my 
Heavenly  Father  drives  me  forth  from  this  little  Garden  of  Eden, 
and  while  I  see  that  I  must  go  out,  I  leave  it  with  reluctance,  and 
tremble  to  tread  the  unknown  land  before  me. 

When  I  first  ventured  to  preach  at  Waterbeach,  1  only  accepted 
an  invitation  for  three  months,  on  the  condition  that  if  in  that  time 
I  should  see  good  reason  for  leaving,  or  they  on  their  part  should 
wish  for  it,  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  cease  supplying,  or  they  should 
have  the  same  power  to  request  me  to  do  so  before  the  expiration 
of  the  time. 

With  regard  to  a  six  months'  invitation  from  you,  I  have  no 
objection  to  the  length  of  time,  but  rather  approve  of  the  prudence 
of  the  church  in  wishing  to  have  one  so  young  as  myself  on  an 
extended  period  of  approbation.  But  I  write  after  well  weighing 
the  matter,  when  I  say  positively  that  I  cannot  —  I  daj'e  not  —  accept 
an  unqualified  invitation  for  so  long  a  time.  My  objection  is  not 
to  the  length  of  time  of  probation,  but  it  ill  becomes  a  youth  to 
promise  to  preach  to  a  London  congregation  so  long,  until  he 
knows  them  and  they  know  him.  I  would  engage  to  supply  for 
three  months  of  that  time,  and  then,  should  the  congregation  fail, 
or  the  church  disagree,  I  would  reserve  to  myself  liberty,  without 
breach  of  engagement,  to  retire ;  and  you  would  on  your  part 
have  the  right  to  dismiss  me  without  seeming  to  treat  me  ill. 
Should  I  see  no  reason  for  so  doing,  and  the  church  still  retain 
their  wish  for  me,  I  can  remain  the  other  three  months,  either  with 


54  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF    C.    II.    SPURCiEON. 

or  without  the  formahty  of  a  further  invitation ;  but  even  during 
the  second  three  months  I  should  not  hke  to  regard  myself  as  a 
fixture,  in  case  of  ill  success,  but  would  only  be  a  supply,  liable  to 
a  fortnight's  dismissal  or  resignation. 

Perhaps  this  is  not  business-like,  • —  I  do  not  know ;  but  this  is 
the  course  I  should  prefer,  if  it  would  be  agreeable  to  the  church. 
Enthusiasm  and  popularity  are  often  the  crackling  of  thorns,  and 
soon  expire.  1  do  not  wish  to  be  a  hindrance  if  I  cannot  be  a 
help. 

With  regard  to  coming  at  once,  I  think  I  must  not.  My  own 
deacons  just  hint  that  I  ought  to  finish  the  quarter  here  :  though, 
by  ought,  they  mean  simply,  —  pray  do  so  if  you  can.  This 
would  be  too  long  a  delay.  I  wish  to  help  them  until  they  can 
get  supplies,  which  is  only  to  be  done  with  great  difficulty ;  and, 
as  I  have  given  you  four  Sabbaths,  I  hope  you  will  allow  me  to 
give  them  four  in  return.  I  would  give  them  the  first  and  second 
Sabbaths  in  February,  and  two  more  in  a  month  or  six  weeks' 
time.  I  owe  them  much  for  their  kindness,  although  they  insist 
that  the  debt  lies  on  their  side.  Some  of  them  hope,  and  almost 
pray,  that  you  may  be  tired  in  three  months,  so  that  I  may  be 
again  sent  back  to  them. 

Thus,  my  dear  sir,  I  have  honestly  poured  out  my  heart  to  you. 
You  are  too  kind.  You  will  excuse  me  if  I  err,  for  I  wish  to  do 
right  to  you,  to  my  people,  and  to  all,  as  being  not  mine  own,  but 
bought  with  a  price. 

I  respect  the  honesty  and  boldness  of  the  small  minority,  and 
only  wonder  that  the  number  was  not  greater.  I  pray  God  that 
if  He  does  not  see  fit  that  I  should  remain  with  you,  the  majority 
may  be  quite  as  much  the  other  way  at  the  end  of  six  months,  so 
that  I  may  never  divide  you  into  parties. 

Pecuniary  matters  I  am  well  satisfied  with.  And  now  one  thing 
is  due  to  every  minister,  and  I  pray  you  to  remind  the  church  of 
it,  namely,  that  in  private,  as  well  as  public,  they  must  all  wrestle 
in  prayer  to  God  that  I  may  be  sustained  in  the  great  work. 

I  am,  with  the  best  wishes  for  your  health,  and  the  greatest 
respect,  Yours  truly, 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


♦  CALL   TO    LONDON.  55 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  subsequent  results,  it  will  not  surprise 
the  reader  to  learn  that  it  did  not  take  the  church  six  months  to 
determine  their  part  of  the  contract.  Before  three  months  had 
passed  away,  "  the  small  minority "  had  been  absorbed  into  the 
majority,  and  the  entire  church  united  in  giving  their  young  min- 
ister, not  yet  twenty  years  old,  an  invitation  to  accept  the  pas- 
torate, both  cordial  and  unanimous.  Mr.  Spurgeon's  second  letter 
at  this  period  will  best  explain  the  real  facts :  — 

TS  Dover  Road,  Borough,  April  28,  1854. 

To  the  Baptist  Church  of  Christ  %vorshipping  in  New  Park-street 
Chapel,  Southwark, 

Dearly  Beloved  in  Christ  Jesus,  —  I  have  received  your 
unanimous  invitation,  as  contained  in  a  resolution  passed  by  you 
on  the  19th  instant,  desiring  me  to  accept  the  pastorate  among  you. 
No  lengthened  reply  is  required  ;  there  is  but  one  answer  to  so 
loving  and  cordial  an  invitation.  I  ACCEPT  IT.  I  have  not  been 
perplexed  as  to  what  my  reply  shall  be,  for  many  things  constrain 
me  thus  to  answer. 

I  sought  not  to  come  to  you,  for  I  was  the  minister  of  an 
obscure  but  affectionate  people ;  I  never  solicited  advancement. 
The  first  note  of  invitation  from  your  deacons  came  to  me  quite 
unlooked  for,  and  I  trembled  at  the  idea  of  preaching  in  London. 
I  could  not  understand  how  it  came  about,  and  even  now  I  am 
filled  with  astonishment  at  the  wondrous  Providence.  I  would 
wish  to  give  myself  into  the  hands  of  our  covenant  God,  whose 
wisdom  directs  all  things.  He  shall  choose  for  me ;  and  so  far  as 
I  can  judge  this  is  His  choice. 

I  feel  it  to  be  a  high  honor  to  be  the  pastor  of  a  people  who 
can  mention  glorious  names  as  my  predecessors ;  and  I  entreat 
of  you  to  remember  me  in  prayer,  that  I  may  realize  the  solemn 
responsibility  of  my  trust.  Remember  my  youth  and  inexperi- 
ence ;  pray  that  these  may  not  hinder  my  usefulness.  I  trust, 
also,  that  the  remembrance  of  these  may  lead  you  to  forgive  the 
mistakes  I  may  make,  or  unguarded  words  I  may  utter. 

Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Most  High  !    if  He  has  called  me  to 


56  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

this  office  He  will  support  me  in  it;  otherwise,  how  should  a  child, 
a  youth,  have  the  presumption  thus  to  attempt  a  work  which 
filled  the  heart  and  hands  of  Jesus?  Your  kindness  to  me  has 
been  very  great,  and  my  heart  is  knit  unto  you.  I  fear  not  your 
steadfastness ;  I  fear  my  own.  The  gospel,  I  believe,  enables  me 
to  venture  great  things,  and  by  faith  I  venture  this.  I  ask  your 
co-operation  in  every  good  work,  —  in  visiting  the  sick,  in  bring- 
ing in  inquirers,  and  in  mutual  edification. 

Oh,  that  I  may  be  no  injury  to  you,  but  a  lasting  benefit !  I  have 
no  more  to  say,  only  this :  that  if  I  have  expressed  myself  in  these 
few  words  in  a  manner  unbecoming  my  youth  and  inexperience, 
you  will  not  impute  it  to  arrogance,  but  forgive  my  mistake. 

And  now,  commending  you  to  our  covenant-keeping  God,  the 
triune  Jehovah,  I  am  yours  to  serve  in  the  gospel, 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

Before  three  months  of  the  new  pastorate  had  expired  the  fame 
of  the  young  minister  had  spread  over  the  metropolis,  crowds  of 
people  flocked  to  his  chapel  at  every  service,  and  the  newspapers, 
week  by  week  for  some  time,  were  asking:  Who  is  this  Spurgeon? 
For  a  long  time  that  question  was  a  puzzle  to  many  minds ;  but 
one  thing  was  certain,  he  had  secured  the  ear  and  the  attention  of 
the  public,  who  waited  upon  his  ministry  by  thousands. 

The  summer  of  1854  will  long  be  remembered  for  the  frightful 
scourge  of  Asiatic  cholera  with  which  the  great  city  was  visited. 
The  black  flag  could  be  seen  stretched  across  streets  to  warn 
Strangers  of  the  close  proximity  of  plague-stricken  dwellings.  On 
all  sides  there  was  anxious  foreboding,  sorrow,  or  bereavement. 
The  young  pastor's  services  were  eagerly  sought  for,  his  time 
and  strength  taxed  to  their  utmost ;  but  he  discharged  the  duties 
of  the  emergency  with  a  true  and  manly  courage.  A  paragraph 
from  his  "  Treasury  of  David,"  on  Psalm  xci.,  most  graphically 
describes  this  trying  period  :  — 

"  In  the  year  1854,  when  I  had  scarcely  been  in  London  twelve 
months,  the  neighborhood  in  which  I  labored  was  visited  by 
Asiatic  cholera,  and  my  congregation  suffered  from  its  inroads. 
Family  after  family  summoned  me  to  the  bedsides  of  the  smitten, 


Mr.  Spurgkon  at   ihe  Age  oi'-  Twenty-one. 


CALL  TO   LONDON.  57 

and  almost  every  day  I  was  called  to  visit  the  grave.  I  gave 
myself  up  with  youthful  ardor  to  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  and 
was  sent  for  from  all  corners  of  the  district  by  persons  of  all  ranks 
and  religions.  I  became  weary  in  body  and  sick  at  heart.  My 
friends  seemed  falling  one  by  one,  and  I  felt  or  fancied  that  I  was 
sickening  like  those  around  me.  A  little  more  work  and  weeping 
would  have  laid  me  low  among  the  rest.  I  felt  that  my  burden 
was  heavier  than  I  could  bear,  and  I  was  ready  to  sink  under  it. 
As  God  would  have  it,  I  was  returning  mournfully  home  from  a 
funeral,  when  my  curiosity  led  me  to  read  a  paper  which  was 
wafered  up  in  a  shoemaker's  window  in  the  Dover  Road.  It  did 
not  look  like  a  trade  announcement,  nor  was  it;  for  it  bore  in  a 
good  bold  handwriting  these  words :  '  Because  thou  hast  made  the 
Lord,  which  is  my  refuge,  even  the  Most  High,  thy  habitation ; 
there  shall  no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh 
thy  dwelling.'  The  effect  upon  my  heart  was  immediate.  Faith 
appropriated  the  passage  as  her  own.  I  felt  secure,  refreshed,  girt 
with  immortality.  I  went  on  with  my  visitation  of  the  dying  in 
a  calm  and  peaceful  spirit;  I  felt  no  fear  of  evil,  and  I  suffered 
no  harm.  The  Providence  which  moved  the  tradesman  to  place 
those  verses  in  his  window  I  gratefully  acknowledge,  and  in  the  re- 
membrance of  its  marvellous  power  I  adore  the  Lord  my  God." 

In  the  autumn  of  his  first  year's  pastorate  he  preached  a  ser- 
mon from  the  words,  "Is  it  not  wheat  harvest  to-day?"  The 
sermon  attracted  attention,  was  much  talked  about  by  his  hearers, 
and  during  the  following  week  it  appeared  under  the  title  of 
"  Harvest  Time,"  and  had  a  large  sale.  This  led  the  publisher 
shortly  afterwards  to  print  another  of  his  sermons,  under  the  title 
of  "God's  Providence."  The  public  at  once  took  to  these  sermons, 
and  by  the  end  of  the  year  about  a  dozen  had  thus  been  issued. 
This  greatly  increased  his  popularity;  for  many  who  had  not 
heard  him,  read  those  sermons,  were  interested  in  them,  and  soon 
found  opportunity  to  go  and  hear  him.  The  demand  for  his 
sermons  being  considerably  greater  than  for  the  sermons  of  other 
ministers  then  being  published,  Mr.  Spurgeon  made  arrangements 
with  the  first  friend  he  met  in  London,  who  was  a  printer,  and  a 
member  of  his  church,  to  commence  the  publication  of  one  sermon 


58  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

of  his  every  week,  beginning  with  the  new  year,  1855.  Through 
the  good  providence  of  God  the  sermons  have  appeared  continu- 
ously, week  by  week,  without  interruption,  for  more  than  twenty- 
seven  years,  with  a  steady,  improving,  and  large  circulation,  which 
is  in  itself  a  marked  indication  of  divine  favor.  No  other  minister 
the  world  has  ever  known  has  been  able  to  produce  one  printed 
sermon  weekly  for  so  many  years.  The  work  still  goes  on  with 
unabated  favor  and  unceasing  interest. 

The  following  description  of  the  preacher's  style  at  this  period 
is  one  of  the  earliest  we  have  met  with :  "  His  voice  is  clear  and 
musical ;  his  language  plain ;  his  style  flowing,  but  terse ;  his 
method  lucid  and  orderly;  his  matter  sound  and  suitable;  his 
tone  and  spirit  cordial ;  his  remarks  always  pithy  and  pungent, 
sometimes  familiar  and  colloquial,  yet  never  light  or  coarse,  much 
less  profane.  Judging  from  a  single  sermon,  we  supposed  that  he 
would  become  a  plain,  faithful,  forcible,  and  affectionate  preacher 
of  the  gospel  in  the  form  called  Calvinistic ;  and  our  judgment 
was  the  more  favorable  because,  while  there  was  a  solidity  beyond 
his  years,  we  detected  little  of  the  wild  luxuriance  naturally  char- 
acteristic of  very  young  preachers."  Want  of  order  and  arrange- 
ment was  a  fault  the  preacher  soon  found  out  himself,  and  he 
refers  to  it  when  he  says:  "  Once  I  put  all  my  knowledge  together 
in  glorious  confusion ;  but  now  I  have  a  shelf  in  my  head  for 
everything;  and  whatever  I  read  or  hear  I  know  where  to  stow 
it  away  for  use  at  the  proper  time." 

Amongst  the  multitudes  who  assembled  to  hear  the  popular 
preacher  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who,  being 
deeply  impressed  by  what  he  saw  and  heard,  wrote  a  lengthened 
article  on  the  subject.  The  writer  observes  :  "  The  crowds  which 
have  been  drawn  to  hear  him,  the  interest  excited  by  his  ministry, 
and  the  conflicting  opinions  expressed  in  reference  to  his  qualifi- 
cations and  usefulness,  have  been  altogether  without  parallel  in 
modern  times.  It  was  a  remarkable  sight  to  see  this  round-faced 
country  youth  thus  placed  in  a  position  of  such  solemn  and  ardu- 
ous responsibility,  yet  addressing  himself  to  the  fulfilment  of  its 
onerous  duties  with  a  gravity,  self-possession,  and  vigor  that 
proved  him  well  fitted  for  the  task  he  had  assumed. 


CALL  TO    LONDON.  59 

Within  one  year,  New  Park-street  Chapel  had  to  be  enlarged. 
During  the  enlargement,  Exeter  Hall  was  taken,  and  it  was  filled 
to  overflowing  every  Sabbath  morning  to  hear  the  young  preacher. 
The  chapel,  which  had  been  enlarged  to  the  fullest  extent  of  the 
ground,  was  soon  found  to  be  far  too  circumscribed  for  the  thou- 
sands who  flocked  to  hear  him ;  and  by  the  end  of  the  summer 
it  became  necessary  to  seek  for  a  much  larger  place  to  satisfy 
the  demand  of  the  public. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1855,  Mr.  Spurgeon  came  of  age,  and  he 
improved  the  occasion  by  preaching  a  sermon  relating  thereto. 
A  large  congregation  heard  it,  and  it  was  printed,  with  an  excel- 
lent likeness  of  the  young  preacher,  pale  and  thin  as  he  then  was. 
The  sermon  was  published  with  the  title,  "  Pictures  of  Life,  and 
Birthday  Reflections."  It  had  a  large  sale.  That  was  the  first 
portrait  of  him  which  had  been  issued. 

At  that  period  the  first  attempt  to  issue  a  penny  weekly  news- 
paper was  made  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Banks,  and  the  "Christian  Cabinet" 
was  a  very  spirited  publication.  The  value  of  a  pure  and  cheap 
press  was  fully  appreciated  by  Mr.  Spurgeon,  who  generously 
furnished  articles  for  the  columns  of  that  serial  during  nearly 
the  whole  of  its  first  year's  existence.  They  show  a  clear  and 
sound  judgment  on  many  public  events  passing  more  than  twenty 
years  ago,  and  they  are  the  first  buddings  of  that  genius  which 
has  since  ripened  so  fully,  and  yielded  such  an  abundant  harvest 
of  rich  mental  food.  The  books  which  have  since  come  from 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  pen  are  equally  marvellous  for  their  number, 
variety,  and  usefulness,  and  some  of  them  have  had  most  unpre- 
cedentedly  large  sales. 

In  July  of  this  year,  1855,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  Scotland, 
and  a  lively  description  of  his  congregation  and  preaching  was 
printed  in  the  "  Cabinet." 

On  the  bright  evening  of  the  4th  of  September,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
preached  to  about  twelve  thousand  people  in  a  field  in  King 
Edward's  Road,  Hackney.  The  sermon  was  printed  under  the 
title  of  "  Heaven  and  Hell,"  and  had  a  very  large  sale,  doing  at 
the  same  time  a  large  amount  of  good.  The  sermon  v/as  closed 
by  the  preacher  giving  the  following  account  of  his  own  conver- 


60  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

sion,  which  had  a  good  effect  on  his  audience,  proving  that  expe- 
rience is  the  best  teacher.  There  were  thousands  of  young  people 
present  who  were  astonished  at  what  they  heard,  and  many  turned 
that  night  from  their  sins.     The  preacher  said :  — 

"  I  can  remember  the  time  when  my  sins  first  stared  me  in  the 
face.  I  thought  myself  the  most  accursed  of  all  men.  I  had  not 
committed  any  very  great  open  transgressions  against  God  ;  but 
I  recollected  that  I  had  been  well  trained  and  tutored,  and  I 
thought  my  sins  were  thus  greater  than  other  people's.  I  cried 
to  God  to  have  mercy,  but  I  feared  that  He  would  not  pardon  me. 
Month  after  month  I  cried  to  God,  but  He  did  not  hear  me,  and 
I  knew  not  what  it  was  to  be  saved.  Sometimes  I  was  so  weary 
of  the  world  that  I  desired  to  die ;  but  I  then  recollected  that 
there  was  a  worse  world  after  this,  and  that  it  would  be  an  ill 
matter  to  rush  before  my  Maker  unprepared.  At  times  I  wickedly 
thought  God  a  most  heartless  tyrant,  because  He  did  not  answer 
my  prayer;  and  then  at  others  I  thought,  '  I  deserve  His  displeas- 
ure ;  if  He  sends  me  to  hell,  He  will  be  just.'  But  I  remember 
the  hour  when  I  stepped  into  a  place  of  worship,  and  saw  a  tall, 
thin  man  step  into  the  pulpit :  I  have  never  seen  him  from  that 
day,  and  probably  never  shall  till  we  meet  in  heaven.  He  opened 
the  Bible,  and  read  with  a  feeble  voice :  '  Look  unto  Me  and  be  ye 
saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  for  I  am  God,  and  beside  Me 
there  is  none  else.'  Ah  !  thought  I,  I  am  one  of  the  ends  of  the 
earth ;  and  then,  turning  round,  and  fixing  his  gaze  on  m.e,  as 
if  he  knew  me,  the  minister  said :  '  Look,  look,  look  !  '  Why,  I 
thought  I  had  a  great  deal  to  do,  but  I  found  it  was  only  to  look. 
I  thought  I  had  a  garment  to  spin  out  for  myself;  but  I  found 
that  if  I  looked,  Christ  could  give  me  a  garment.  Look,  sinner, 
that  is  the  way  to  be  saved.  Look  unto  Him,  all  ye  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  be  saved." 

Preaching  is  the  ordained  means  for  the  salvation  of  sinners : 
the  power  of  appeal  by  the  human  voice  is  greater  than  any 
other;  but  there  is  another  influence  which  is  potent.  Before 
Mr.  Spurgeon  had  issued  more  than  half  a  year's  sermons  from 
the  press,  letters  reached  him  from  far-off  places  recording  the 
good  which  had  been  effected  by  reading  them.     On  one  of  Mr. 


CALL  TO    LONDON.  6l 

Spurgeon's  visits  to  Scotland  he  was  taken  to  visit  Anne  Sims, 
an  aged  saint  living  at  the  Brae  of  Killiecrankie,  far  away  up  the 
mountains,  who  had  expressed  intense  delight  in  reading  his  ser- 
mons, and  prayed  for  his  success  in  the  work,  little  thinking  that 
in  her  mountain  solitude,  and  in  her  ninetieth  year,  she  should 
ever  see  the  preacher  himself,  whose  visit  was  to  her  like  that  of 
an  angel.  It  would  be  difficult  to  chronicle  the  results  which  have 
followed  the  reading  of  the  sermons.  In  the  first  article  in  "The 
Sword  and  the  Trowel"  for  1872,  the  editor  himself  says,  "Our 
ministry  has  never  been  without  large  results  in  conversion." 
Twenty  conversions  have  been  reported  to  him  by  letter  in  one 
week.  The  last  Sunday  sermon  he  preached  in  1855,  with  which 
the  first  volume  of  his  printed  discourses  is  closed,  had  special 
reference  to  the  war  in  the  Crimea,  and  it  commanded  a  large 
sale;  its  title  was,  "Healing  for  the  Wounded."  It  contributed 
materially  to  allay  public  anxiety  about  the  war.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
closed  the  year  by  holding  a  Watchnight  Service  in  his  chapel. 
It  was  a  happy  and  memorable  service,  and  it  has  been  repeated 
at  the  close  of  every  year  since ;  the  last  hours  of  the  closing 
year  and  the  first  moments  of  the  opening  new  year  being  devoted 
to  the  worship  of  God,  in  acts  of  personal  consecration. 

It  is  a  gratifying  fact,  not  generally  known,  that  from  the  first 
year  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ministry  in  London  several  clergymen 
have  used  his  sermons  weekly,  with  a  little  adaptation,  in  their 
own  churches.  This  testimony  has  been  given  by  the  clergy- 
men themselves,  in  person  and  by  letter,  to  the  writer.  Some  are 
using  the  sermons  in  that  way  at  the  present  time,  and  though 
delivered  second-hand  in  this  manner,  yet  they  are  not  without 
fruit. 


62  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


PSALM   XXL 

Thy  strength,  O  Lord,  makes  glad  our  King, 
Who  once  in  weakness  bowed  the  head ; 

Salvation  makes  His  heart  to  sing, 
For  Thou  hast  raised  Him  from  the  dead. 

Thou  hast  bestowed  His  heart's  desires. 
Showered  on  His  path  Thy  blessings  down; 

His  royal  pomp  all  Heaven  admires  ; 
Thou  on  His  head  hast  set  the  crown. 

A  life  eternal  as  Thy  years, 

A  glory  infinite  hke  Thine, 
Repays  Him  for  His  groans  and  tears, 

And  fills  His  soul  with  joy  divine. 

O  King,  beloved  of  our  souls. 

Thine  own  right  hand  shall  find  Thy  foes! 
Swift  o'er  their  necks  Thy  chariot  rolls. 

And  Earth  Thy  dreadful  vengeance  knows. 

As  glowing  oven  is  Thy  wrath, 

As  flame  by  furious  blast  upblown  ; 
With  equal  heat  Thy  love  breaks  forth, 

Like  wall  of  fire  around  Thine  own. 

Be  Thou  exalted.  King  of  kings! 

In  Thine  own  strength  sit  Thou  on  high  ! 
Thy  Church  Thy  triumph  loudly  sings. 

And  lauds  Thy  glorious  Majesty. 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


V. 

ABUNDANT  IN   LABORS. 


Life  is  so  brief  that  no  man  can  afford  to  lose  an  hour  of  it.  It  has  been 
well  said,  that  if  a  king  should  bring  us  a  great  heap  of  gold,  and  bid  us  take 
as  much  as  we  could  count  in  a  day,  we  should  make  a  long  day  of  it ;  we 
should  begin  early  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  we  should  not  with- 
hold our  hand.  Now,  to  win  souls,  or  to  grow  in  grace,  or  to  commune  with 
God,  is  far  nobler  work  ;  how  is  it  that  we  so  soon  withdraw  from  it }  —  C.  H. 
Spurgeon. 


ABUNDANT  IN  LABORS. 


THE  year  1856  was  a  remarkable  one  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon.  It  was  the  year  of  his  marriage ;  the  year  in  which 
he  preached  his  grandfather's  jubilee  sermon,  and  one  of  the 
centenary  sermons  in  Whitfield's  Tabernacle  in  Tottenham  Court 
Road. 

During  the  first  week  of  the  year  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  delighting 
large  audiences  at  Bath.  The  second  week  was  made  memorable 
by  a  service  held  in  his  own  chapel,  in  which  the  young  people, 
more  particularly,  took  a  very  lively  interest.  Early  in  the  fore- 
noon of  January  8th  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  married  to  Miss  Susanna 
Thompson,  daughter  of  Mr.  Robert  Thompson,  of  Falcon  Square, 
London.  Twin  boys,  Charles  and  Thomas  Spurgeon,  are  the  only 
additions  to  their  family.     Both  are  now  settled  pastors. 

At  this  period  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  daily  in  the  pulpit,  often 
travelling  many  miles  between  the  services  held ;  and  for  months 
together  he  preached  twelve  sermons  weekly,  with  undiminished 
force  and  unflagging  zeal.  In  the  achievement  of  such  herculean 
tasks  he  has  doubtless  been  indebted  to  an  excellent  constitution 
and  to  his  simple  habits  of  living.  He  is  the  very  embodiment  of 
nature,  without  the  usual  make-up  of  art.  He  throws  himself  on 
the  tide  of  social  intercourse  with  the  freedom  of  one  who  has  no 
tricks  to  exhibit  and  no  failings  to  conceal.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  of  companions  :  pious  without  any  of  the  shams  of  piety; 
temperate  without  a  touch  of  asceticism ;  and  devout  without  the 
solemnity  of  the  devotee.     Preaching  for  his  poorer  brethren  in 

5 


66  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

the  country,  he  declined  to  receive  any  contribution  towards  his 
personal  outlay,  excepting  only  in  cases  where  the  church  could 
well  afford  to  pay  his  travelling  expenses. 

New  Park-street  Chapel  when  enlarged  soon  became  utterly 
inadequate  to  receive  the  crowds  which  flocked  to  hear  Mr.  Spur- 
geon,  and  the  deacons  found  it  necessary  to  take  the  largest 
available  building  in  London, —  the  Royal  Surrey  Gardens  Music 
Hall, —  and  in  October,  1856,  Mr.  Spurgeon  commenced  to 
preach  every  Sabbath  in  that  vast  audience-room,  continuing  the 
morning  service  there  till  the  great  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  was 
opened. 

What  is  known  as  the  Surrey  Gardens  catastrophe  we  need  not 
do  more  than  allude  to.  On  October  19th  a  sad  and  fatal  acci- 
dent had  wellnigh  put  an  end  to  the  large  Sabbath  gatherings 
drawn  to  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;  but  that  fatality  was  overruled  for 
good.  Previous  to  this  Mr.  Spurgeon  knew  not  what  illness  was; 
but  this  calamity,  joined  with  the  wicked  calumnies  of  a  portion  of 
the  press,  laid  prostrate  even  the  strong  man. 

In  October,  1856,  the  first  meeting  was  held  for  considering  the 
steps  necessary  to  be  taken  for  erecting  a  great  Tabernacle.  The 
proposal  was  very  heartily  taken  up  by  Mr.  Spurgeon's  friends, 
and  in  every  part  of  the  country  sympathy  was  largely  shown 
with  the  movement.  There  were  many  who  laughed  at  the  idea 
of  erecting  as  a  place  of  worship  an  edifice  to  hold  five  thousand 
persons.  Regardless  of  these  objections  the  work  went  on,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  travelling  all  over  the  land,  preaching  daily,  with  the 
promise  of  half  the  proceeds  of  the  collection  being  devoted  to 
the  new  Tabernacle.  The  foundation-stone  of  the  great  building 
was  laid  by  Sir  Samuel  Morton  Peto,  Aug.  16,  1859. 

During  the  progress  of  the  work  Mr.  Spurgeon  met  on  the 
ground,  one  evening  after  the  workmen  had  left,  one  of  his  dea- 
cons. After  some  consultation  and  meditation,  surrounded  by 
planks,  piles  of  timber  and  bricks,  in  the  dim  twilight,  they  both 
knelt  down  where  no  eye  could  see  them  but  that  of  God ;  and 
with  only  the  canopy  of  heaven  for  their  covering,  the  pastor  and 
his  friend  each  poured  out  most  earnest  supplications  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  work,  the  safety  of  the  men  engaged  on  the  building, 


Surrey  Music  Hall. 


ABUNDANT    IN    LABORS.  6/ 

and  a  blessing  on  the  church.  Their  prayers  were  not  ofifered 
in  vain,  but  were  abundantly  answered.  Out  of  so  large  a 
number  of  men  engaged  on  the  work,  not  one  of  them  suffered 
harm. 

In  i860  a  large  and  enthusiastic  meeting  was  held  in  the  build- 
ing before  it  was  finished,  at  which  much  money  was  given  and 
more  promised.  Great  preparations  were  made  during  the  winter 
for  the  holding  of  a  large  bazaar  in  the  spring,  which  was  proba- 
bly one  of  the  largest  and  most  productive  of  the  kind  ever  held 
in  London.  The  opening  services  were  commenced  on  March  25, 
1 86 1,  and  were  continued  without  interruption  for  five  weeks.  As 
the  result  of  all  these  efforts,  the  great  Tabernacle,  to  hold  five 
thousand  people,  was  free  from  debt  at  the  end  of  the  special  ser- 
vices, and  $155,000  of  free-will  offerings  had  been  poured  into  the 
hands  of  the  treasurer.  Since  then  various  improvements  have 
been  made  in  the  audience-room,  and,  using  every  facility  modern 
invention  could  suggest,  seats  have  been  provided  for  5,500  per- 
sons, and  standing  room  for  1,000  more,  —  total,  6,500. 

Large  as  is  the  accommodation  provided,  the  Tabernacle  has 
always  been  filled.  All  the  prophets  of  evil  have  been  found  false 
prophets,  and  the  spirit  of  faith  with  which  the  work  was  begun 
has  had  its  full  reward  in  results  even  greater  than  ever  had  been 
anticipated. 

When  the  church  removed  from  New  Park  Street,  in  1861,  it 
numbered  1,178  members.  In  ten  years  from  the  commence- 
ment of  his  ministry  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  received  into  fellowship 
by  baptism  3,569  persons. 

During  the  period  in  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  preaching  in  the 
Surrey  Music  Hall  large  numbers  of  the  aristocracy  attended  his 
ministry ;  amongst  whom  were  Lord  Chief  Justice  Campbell,  the 
Lord  Mayor  and  Sheriffs  of  London,  Earl  Russell,  Lord  Alfred 
Paget,  Lord  Panmure,  Earl  Grey,  Earl  Shaftesbury,  the  Marquis 
of  Westminster,  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Lord  Carlisle,  Earl  of 
Elgin,  Baron  Bramwell,  Miss  Florence  Nightingale,  Lady  Roth- 
schild, Dr.  Livingstone,  and  many  other  persons  of  learning  and 
distinction,  some  of  whom  sought  and  obtained  interviews  with  the 
preacher.      It  was   during  that   interim   that   Mr.   Spurgeon   paid 


68  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

one  of  his  visits  to  Holland,  was  privileged  to  preach  before  the 
Dutch  Court,  and  had  a  lengthened  interview  with  the  queen  of 
that  country.  It  was  reported  that  some  members  of  the  English 
Royal  Family  also  occasionally  attended  on  his  preaching,  and 
not  a  few  distinguished  clergymen  and  professors. 

During  the  present  year  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  son  have  formed 
part  of  the  congregation,  and  a  mutual  interview  was  held  at  the 
close  of  the  service  between  the  great  premier  and  the  humble 
pastor.  Mr.  Gladstone  has  often  spoken  very  highly  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon,  calling  him  "  the  last  of  the  Puritans." 

Dr.  Livingstone,  the  great  African  explorer,  said,  on  one  occa- 
sion after  hearing  Mr.  Spurgeon,  that  no  religious  service  he  ever 
remembered  had  so  deeply  impressed  his  own  mind  as  that  he  had 
witnessed  and  participated  in  that  morning;  adding,  that  when 
he  had  retired  again  into  the  solitudes  of  Africa,  no  scene  he  had 
ever  witnessed  would  afford  him  more  consolation  than  to  recall 
the  recollection  that  there  was  one  man  God  had  raised  up  who 
could  so  effectively  and  impressively  preach  to  congregated  thou- 
sands, whilst  he  should  have  to  content  himself  by  preaching  to 
units,  or  at  most  tens,  under  a  tropical  sky  in  Africa;  implying, 
at  the  same  time,  that  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sphere  of  religious  influ- 
ence was  a  hundred  times  greater  than  that  of  the  great  and  good 
traveller. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  has  often  been  invited  to  lecture  in  this  country, 
but  has  always  declined.  The  managers  of  the  Redpath  Lyceum 
Bureau  having  noticed  a  paragraph  in  the  Boston  papers  stating 
that  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  about  to  visit  the  United  States,  enclosed 
it  to  him,  and  wrote  as  follows :  — 

Boston,  Mass.,  June  22,  1876. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Is  the  above  paragraph  true?  We  have  tried  so 
long  and  so  hard  for  many  years  to  secure  you  that  we  thought  it 
impossible,  and  long  since  gave  up  all  hope.  We  are  the  exclu- 
sive agents  of  all  the  leading  lecturers  in  America.  We  will  give 
you  a  thousand  dollars  in  gold  for  every  lecture  you  deliver  in 
America,  and  pay  all  your  expenses  to  and  from  your  home,  and 
place  you  under  the  most  popular  auspices  in  the  country.  Will 
you  come? 


ABUNDANT   IN    LABORS.  69 

To  this  invitation  Mr.  Spurgeon  returned  the  following  reply:  — 

Clapham,  London,  Eng.,  July  6. 

Gentlemen,  —  I  cannot  imagine  how  such  a  paragraph  should 
appear  in  your  papers,  except  by  deliberate  invention  of  a  hard-up 
editor,  for  I  never  had  any  idea  of  leaving  home  for  America  for 
some  time  to  come.  As  I  said  to  you  before,  if  I  could  come,  I 
am  not  a  lecturer,  nor  zvou/d  I  receive  vioney  for  preaching. 

In  the  year  1857  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  two  sermons,  —  one 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  his  ministrations,  the  other  on  a  special 
occasion,  —  both  of  which  commanded  a  sale  of  more  than  a  hun- 
dred thousand  copies.  The  first,  preached  in  the  autumn,  was 
entitled  "  India's  Ills  and  England's  Sorrows,"  and  had  reference 
to  the  mutiny  in  India.  The  second  was  preached  in  the  Crys- 
tal Palace  at  Sydenham  on  the  fast  day  relating  to  the  war  in 
India,  when  probably  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  formed  the 
preacher's  audience. 

It  will  doubtless  interest  many  to  learn  something  of  the  per- 
sonal appearance  of  the  preacher  as  he  stood  before  that  vast 
audience.  One  who  had  some  skill  in  depicting  natural  life  wrote 
of  him  as  follows :  — 

"  He  is  of  medium  height,  at  present  quite  stout,  has  a  round 
and  beardless  face,  not  a  high  forehead,  dark  hair,  parted  in  the 
centre  of  the  head.  His  appearance  in  the  pulpit  may  be  said  to 
be  interesting  rather  than  commanding.  He  betrays  his  youth, 
and  still  wears  a  boyish  countenance.  His  figure  is  awkward,  — 
his  manners  are  plain,  —  his  face  (except  when  illumined  by  a 
smile)  is  admitted  to  be  heavy.  His  voice  seems  to  be  the  only 
personal  instrument  he  possesses,  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  ac- 
quire such  a  marvellous  power  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his 
hearers.  His  voice  is  powerful,  rich,  melodious,  and  under  perfect 
control.  Twelve  thousand  have  distinctly  heard  every  sentence 
he  uttered  in  the  open  air,  and  this  powerful  instrument  carried 
his  burning  words  to  an  audience  of  twenty  thousand  gathered  in 
the  Crystal  Palace.  '  Soon  as  he  commences  to  speak,'  says  an 
English  critic,  '  tones  of  richest  melody  are  heard.  A  voice,  full, 
sweet,    and   musical,   falls   on   every   ear,   and    awakens    agreeable 


■JO  1,IFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

emotions  in  every  soul  in  which  there  is  a  sympathy  for  sounds. 
That  most  excellent  of  voices  is  under  perfect  control,  and  can 
whisper  or  thunder  at  the  wish  of  its  possessor.  Then  there  is 
poetry  in  every  feature  and  every  movement,  as  well  as  music  ir. 
the  voice.  The  countenance  speaks,  the  entire  form  sympathizes. 
The  action  is  in  complete  unison  with  the  sentiments,  and  the  eye 
listens  scarcely  less  than  the  ear  to  the  sweetly  flowing  oratory.' 
To  the  influence  of  this  powerful  voice,  he  adds  that  of  a  manner 
characterized  by  great  freedom  and  fearlessness,  intensely  earnest, 
and  strikingly  natural.  When  to  these  we  add  the  influence  of 
thrilling  description,  touching  anecdote,  sparkling  wit,  startling 
episodes,  striking  similes,  all  used  to  illustrate  and  enforce  the 
deep,  earnest  home-truths  of  the  Bible,  we  surely  have  a  combi- 
nation of  elements  which  must  make  up  a  preacher  of  wonderful 
attraction  and  of  marvellous  power." 

Amidst  his  incessant  duties  and  almost  daily  journeys  and  ser- 
mons, the  devoted  pastor  still  found  time  to  give  instruction  to  the 
young  men  he  kept  under  his  careful  ministry.  With  Mr.  Spur- 
geon  it  was  work  almost  night  and  day,  and  all  day  long,  with  but 
Httle  intermission,  for  several  years  in  succession.  The  germs  of 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Pastors'  College  were  never  absent  from 
his  mind,  and  frequently  occupied  his  attention  when  in  London. 
In  1857  the  first  student  was  sent  out  in  charge  of  a  church;  in 
1858  Mr.  Silverton  went  forth;  in  1859  Mr.  Davies  and  Mr.  Gen- 
ders followed,  both  of  whom  have  left  their  mark  on  society. 

On  Jan.  i,  1865,  appeared  the  first  number  of  "The  Sword  and 
the  Trowel ;  "  a  record  of  combat  with  sin,  and  labor  for  the  Lord. 
It  had  an  ornamental  cover  representing  a  Jewish  doorway  of 
stone,  and  beyond  and  within  were  seen  the  zealous  Jews  at  work 
rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  the  sword  in  one  hand,  the 
trowel  in  the  other.  The  work  was  so  wisely  planned,  and  it  has 
been  so  ably  conducted,  that  it  now  occupies  a  prominent,  if  not 
a  foremost  place  amongst  the  periodical  literature  of  the  land, 
and  has  a  circulation  of  several  thousand  copies  monthly,  with  a 
steady  advancement. 

Besides  the  other  works  daily  undertaken  by  Mr.  Spurgeon 
himself,  and  all  his  journeys  in  the  country  to  preach  special  ser- 


ABUNDANT   IN   LABORS.  7 1 

mons,  he  found  time  to  write  no  less  than  nineteen  articles  for  the 
first  year's  volume  of  his  magazine.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the 
Editor  was  ill  at  home,  but  he  informed  his  friends,  through  the 
magazine,  that  he  had  finished  writing  his  new  book,  "  Morning 
by  Morning,"  by  which  means  he  hoped  to  hold  hallowed  com- 
munion with  thousands  of  families  all  over  the  world,  every  morn- 
ing, at  the  family  altar.  He  has  since  added  to  it  a  companion 
volume,  "  Evening  by  Evening,"  both  of  which  works  have  had  a 
large  sale,  which  is  steadily  on  the  increase.  Amongst  his  articles 
in  1865  were  two  poems,  one  entitled  "The  Fall  of  Jericho;"  the 
other  will  find  a  fitting  place  in  these  pages.  It  was  written  while 
on  a  visit  to  Hull,  in  Yorkshire,  during  the  summer:  — 

MARRIED    LOVE  — TO    MY   WIFE. 

Over  the  space  that  parts  us,  my  wife, 

I  'II  cast  me  a  bridge  of  song, 
Our  hearts  shall  meet,  O  joy  of  my  life, 

On  its  arch  unseen,  but  strong. 

The  wooer  his  new  love's  name  may  wear 

Engraved  on  a  precious  stone  ; 
But  in  my  heart  thine  image  I  wear, 

That  heart  has  long  been  thine  own. 

The  glowing  colors  on  surface  laid. 

Wash  out  in  a  shower  of  rain  ; 
Thou  need'st  not  be  of  rivers  afraid, 

For  my  love  is  dyed  ingrain. 

And  as  every  drop  of  Garda's  lake 

Is  tinged  with  sapphire's  blue, 
So  all  the  powers  of  my  mind  partake 

Of  joy  at  the  thought  of  you. 

The  glittering  dewdrops  of  dawning  love 

Exhale  as  the  day  grows  old, 
And  fondness,  taking  the  wings  of  a  dove, 

Is  gone  like  a  tale  of  old. 

But  mine  for  thee,  from  the  chambers  of  joy, 

With  strength  came  forth  as  the  sun, 
Nor  life  nor  death  shall  its  force  destroy, 

Forever  its  course  shall  run. 


72  LIFE  AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

All  earth-born  love  must  sleep  in  the  grave, 

To  its  native  dust  return  : 
What  God  hath  kindled  shall  death  out-brave, 

And  in  heaven  itself  shall  burn. 

Beyond  and  above  the  wedlock  tie 

Our  union  to  Christ  we  feel  ; 
Uniting  bonds  which  were  made  on  high, 

Shall  hold  us  when  earth  shall  reel. 

Though  He  who  chose  us  all  worlds  before, 
Must  reign  in  our  hearts  alone, 

We  fondly  believe  that  we  shall  adore 
Together  before  His  throne. 


VI. 
REVIVALS. 


Just  as  the  birds,  when  the  eggs  are  in  the  nest,  have  upon  them  a  natural 
feeling  that  they  must  sit  on  those  eggs,  and  that  they  must  feed  those  little 
fledglings  which  will  come  from  them  ;  so  if  God  calls  you  to  win  souls,  you 
will  have  a  natural  love  for  them,  a  longing  wrought  in  you  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
so  that  the  whole  force  of  your  being  will  run  out  in  that  direction,  seeking  the 
salvation  of  men.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


REVIVALS. 


DURING  the  year  1865  Mr.  Spurgcon  held  in  the  Tabernacle 
united  meetings  for  prayer  through  one  entire  week,  attended 
by  over  six  thousand  persons,  which  were  a  source  of  so  much 
blessing  to  those  attending  them,  that  a  second  series  followed  a 
month  later. 

Conscious  of  the  power  of  prayer,  the  pastor  commenced  the 
year  1866  with  a  month's  continuous  revival  services,  at  which 
one  hundred  and  twenty  ministers  and  students  were  present. 
Knowing  that  he  should  have  the  sympathy  and  co-operation  of 
his  church  in  conducting  them,  in  September  the  whole  church 
had  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer. 

An  important  work,  which  had  for  a  long  time  occupied  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  attention,  was  brought  out  this  year,  under  the  title 
of  "  Our  Own  Hymn  Book."  The  preparation  of  a  new  collec- 
tion of  psalms  and  hymns  for  congregational  use  was  felt  to  be 
an  urgent  necessity,  but  there  was  a  nervous  fear  about  the  suc- 
cess of  such  a  work.  It  was  prepared  with  great  care,  and  no 
pains  were  spared  to  make  it  complete  in  every  respect,  giving 
correct  text,  author's  name  to  each  hymn,  with  date  of  first  pub- 
lication, and  other  interesting  particulars  in  the  large  edition  of 
the  book.  The  public  at  once  saw  the  value  of  the  collection, 
and  since  that  time  it  has  had  a  very  large  sale,  having  been 
adopted  by  and  is  now  in  use  in  scores  if  not  hundreds  of  con- 
gregations. 

As  a  student  of  the  times  in  which  Puritanism  began  to  take 
hold  of  the  mind  of  the  English  people,  Mr.  Spurgeon  knew  how 


'J^  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

great  a  work  was  accomplished  by  the  Nonconformists  by  book- 
hawking.  He  had  learned  by  several  visits  to  Scotland  how  useful 
and  valuable  that  agency  was  in  the  north  of  England.  He  there- 
fore, in  January,  1866,  issued  a  circular  stating  his  intention  to 
establish  a  system  of  colportage,  by  which  his  sermons  and  other 
works  of  a  moral  and  religious  character  might  be  more  widely 
distributed.  At  first  it  was  intended  to  be  confined  to  London 
and  the  neglected  villages  and  small  country  towns  around,  where 
access  to  religious  literature  was  difficult.  The  result  of  the 
appeal  made  in  January  led  to  the  formation  of  THE  COLPORTAGE 
Association  in  October,  which  has  ever  since  been  one  of  the 
important  agencies  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  which  is  every  year 
increasing  its  operations  and  usefulness.  It  employs  colporteurs, 
whose  whole  time  is  directed  to  the  work,  and  who  are  paid  a 
moderate  salary ;  also  book  agents,  who  are  constantly  delivering 
books  to  purchasers,  for  which  service  they  receive  a  liberal  dis- 
count on  sales,  and  by  which  they  are  enabled  to  make  a  satis- 
factory living.  The  wisdom  of  the  course  taken  by  Mr.  Spurgeon 
in  this  matter  has  since  been  abundantly  demonstrated.  That 
association  has  been  a  blessing  to  thousands. 

At  this  time  there  was  a  feeling  abroad  which  manifested  itself 
in  several  articles  in  public  papers,  and  notably  in  a  New  York 
religious  weekly,  that  Mr.  Spurgeon,  by  means  of  his  College 
and  the  large  number  of  new  chapels  being  erected  all  over  the 
land  for  his  students,  was  aiming  at  founding  a  sect,  after  the 
example  of  Wesley.  So  soon  as  this  notion  reached  Mr.  Spur- 
geon, he  took  the  earliest  opportunity  of  repudiating  the  idea. 
In  a  short  article  entitled  "  Spurgeonism,"  he  thus  records  his 
views :  — 

"  There  is  no  word  in  the  world  so  hateful  to  our  heart  as  that 
word  Spurgeonism,  and  no  thought  further  from  our  soul  than 
that  of  forming  a  new  sect.  Our  course  has  been,  and  we  hope 
ever  will  be,  an  independent  one ;  but  to  charge  us  with  separat- 
ing from  the  general  organization  of  the  religious  world,  and  even 
of  the  Baptist  denomination,  is  to  perpetrate  an  unfounded  libel. 
We  preach  no  new  gospel,  we  desire  no  new  objects,  and  follow 
them  in  no  novel  spirit.     We  love  Christ  better  than  a  sect,  and 


REVIVALS.  "jy 

truth  better  than  a  party,  and  so  far  are  not  denominational ;  but 
we  are  in  open  union  with  the  Baptists  for  the  very  reason  that 
we  cannot  endure  isolation.  He  who  searches  all  hearts  knows 
that  our  aim  and  object  is  not  to  gather  a  band  around  self,  but  to 
unite  a  company  around  the  Saviour.  '  Let  my  name  perish,  but 
let  Christ's  name  last  for  ever,'  said  George  Whitfield ;  and  so  has 
Charles  Spurgeon  said  a  hundred  times.  We  aid  and  assist  the 
Baptist  churches  to  the  full  extent  of  our  power,  although  we  do 
not  restrict  our  energies  to  them  alone,  and  in  this  those  churches 
are  far  enough  from  blaming  us.  Our  joy  and  rejoicing  is  great 
in  the  fellowship  of  all  believers,  and  the  forming  of  a  fresh  sect 
is  work  which  we  leave  to  the  devil,  whom  it  befits  far  more  than 
ourselves.  It  is  true  that  it  has  long  been  in  our  power  to  com- 
mence a  new  denomination,  but  it  is  not  true  that  it  has  ever  been 
contemplated  by  us  or  our  friends.  We  desire  as  much  as  possible 
to  work  with  the  existing  agencies,  and  when  we  commence  new 
ones  our  friends  must  believe  that  it  is  with  no  idea  of  organizing 
a  fresh  community." 

The  closing  days  of  the  year  1866  Mr.  Spurgeon  spent  in 
Paris,  in  a  successful  efibrt  to  get  the  Baptist  church  in  that  city 
brought  out  of  an  obscure  corner,  in  which  property  could  not  be 
respected,  into  a  place  of  prominence,  where  there  was  hope  of  its 
becoming  known  and  being  useful.  This  effort  had  long  exercised 
the  mind  of  Pastor  Spurgeon,  and  he  had  the  joy  of  seeing  the 
work  he  aimed  at  fully  accomplished.  He  spent  his  Christmas 
in  Paris,  getting  rest  for  himself  and  doing  a  good  work  for  the 
Parisians. 

Reinvigorated  by  his  short  trip  to  the  Continent,  he  returned  to 
his  duties  at  the  Tabernacle  with  renewed  energy  and  a  stronger 
faith,  having  gained  fresh  courage  from  his  success  in  France. 

The  month  of  February,  1867,  witnessed  the  usual  week  of 
prayer,  which  that  year  was  marked,  on  the  i8th,  by  a  whole  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer,  commencing  at  seven  in  the  morning  and 
continuing,  without  a  pause  or  breaking  up  for  meals,  until  nine  at 
night  —  a  day  of  prayer  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  was  manifestly 
present  all  day.  The  account  of  the  services  held  during  that 
week  reads  like  a  new  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 


78  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    II.    STURGEON. 

The  readiness  with  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  can  adapt  himself  to 
his  audience,  whether  that  audience  consists  of  the  educated  or 
affluent,  the  poor  or  the  ignorant,  was  never  more  distinctly 
seen  than  when,  in  the  Evangelists'  Tabernacle,  Golden  Lane, 
City,  he  preached  to  a  congregation  of  costermongers.  Mr.  Ors- 
man,  the  missionary  there,  had  distributed  tickets  among  the 
street  dealers  in  Whitecross  Street,  so  as  to  secure  the  class  for 
whom  the  service  was  intended.  An  amusing  article  might  be 
written  to  describe  the  singular  variety  of  countenances  and  call- 
ings of  those  present.  The  hymns  were  heartily  sung;  the  prayer 
won  the  hearts  of  the  audience  when  Mr.  Spurgeon  offered  sup- 
plication for  those  who  had  bodily  aches  and  pains,  and  whose 
poverty  deprived  them  of  many  desired  comforts ;  many  deep 
sighs  followed  those  prayers.  The  sermon  was  preached  from  St. 
John  iv.  15,  and  it  was  illustrated  by  allusions  to  the  habits  and 
manner  of  life  of  his  congregation,  whose  acuteness  relished  the 
anecdotes  and  homely  hits  which  the  preacher  so  freely  used.  A 
costermonger's  living  depends  much  upon  his  voice.  After  the 
service  the  costers  were  free  in  their  comments  on  the  preacher's 
voice,  which  was  described  as  "Wot  a  woice !  "  "Wonderful!" 
"  Stunnin'  !  "  "I  never !  "  "  Would  make  a  fine  coster !  "  &c. 
After  the  sermon  about  two  hundred  remained  to  be  prayed  with, 
and  much  spiritual  good  was  done  that  night. 

Six  years  having  elapsed  since  the  Tabernacle  was  opened,  the 
building  had  suffered  much  from  the  massive  congregations  which 
had  assembled  there,  and  it  became  necessary  to  close  it  for  several 
weeks  for  repairs.  During  that  period  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached 
to  immense  congregations  in  the  Agricultural  Hall,  Islington. 
The  first  of  the  five  special  services  was  held  on  Sunday,  March 
24,  1867,  when  about  twelve  thousand  persons  were  present.  The 
preacher's  delivery  was  slow,  measured,  and  emphatic ;  nothing 
labored  ;  and  his  voice  lost  none  of  its  accustomed  music.  Many 
thousands  heard  the  gospel  at  that  time  who  were  not  accustomed 
to  attend  any  place  of  worship.  More  than  twenty  thousand 
were  in  attendance  on  the  final  day. 

The  heavy  responsibilities  which  rested  on  the  pastor  of  the 
Tabernacle  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  made  it  necessary  for  him 


REVIVALS.  79 

to  seek  a  little  recreation,  and  with  that  he  blended  a  friendly 
service  for  his  esteemed  friend  Pastor  Oncken,  by  preaching  for 
him  at  the  opening  of  his  new  Baptist  church  at  Hamburg. 
He  included  in  his  travels  a  visit  to  Heligoland,  which  furnished 
for  his  ready  and  fertile  pen  most  interesting  matter  for  an  article, 
which  contains  information  both  curious  and  valuable  not  to  be 
found  elsewhere. 


8o  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PSALM    XXX. 

I  WILL  exalt  Thee,  Lord  of  hosts, 

For  Thou  'st  exalted  me  ; 
Since  Thou  hast  silenced  Satan's  boasts, 

I  '11  therefore  boast  in  Thee. 

My  sins  had  brought  me  near  the  grave, 

The  grave  of  black  despair  ; 
I  looked,  but  there  was  none  to  save 

Till  I  looked  up  in  prayer. 

In  answer  to  my  piteous  cries. 

From  hell's  dark  brink  I'm  brought: 

My  Jesus  saw  me  from  the  skies, 
And  swift  salvation  wrought. 

All  through  the  night  I  wept  full  sore, 

But  morning  brought  relief; 
That  hand  which  broke  my  bones  before, 

Then  broke  my  bonds  of  grief. 

My  mourning  He  to  dancing  turns, 

For  sackcloth  joy  He  gives: 
A  moment,  Lord,  Thine  anger  burns, 

But  long  Thy  favor  lives. 

Sing  with  me  then,  ye  favored  men, 
Who  long  have  known  His  grace  ; 

With  thanks  recall  the  seasons  when 
Ye  also  sou;dit  His  face. 


C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


VII. 
MULTIPLYING   WORK, 


We  must  ourselves  drink  of  the  living  water  till  we  are  full,  and  then  out  of 
the  midst  of  us  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water;  but  not  till  then.  Out  of  an 
empty  basket  you  cannot  distribute  loaves  and  fishes,  however  hungry  the 
crowd  may  be.  Out  of  an  empty  heart  you  cannot  speak  full  things,  nor  from 
a  lean  soul  bring  forth  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  nor  from  a  dead  heart  impart 
life.     Be  blest,  that  ye  may  bless.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


MULTIPLYING    WORK, 


RETURNING  home,  the  industrious  pastor  found  abundance 
of  important  work  awaiting  him.  During  the  April  pre- 
vious the  land  had  been  secured  at  Stockwell  for  the  ORPHAN 
Houses.  The  work  of  preparation  for  their  erection  had  been 
so  far  advanced  that  a  great  festival  was  arranged,  and  on  Mon- 
day, September  9,  1867,  a  party  of  some  four  thousand  persons 
assembled  at  Stockwell,  a  large  proportion  of  the  company  being 
collectors ;  and  it  was  part  of  the  programme  for  the  foundation- 
stones  of  three  of  the  houses  to  be  laid,  and  for  the  numerous 
collectors  to  lay  on  the  stones  their  respective  contributions.  It 
was  an  auspicious  day  for  Mr.  Spurgeon,  for  his  deacons  and 
church-members.  A  widely  extended  interest  had  been  felt  in 
the  work,  and  the  occasion  became  a  grand  holiday  in  that 
southern  suburb  of  London.  Three  of  the  houses  were  thus  far 
advanced  in  their  progress,  namely,  the  Silver  Wedding  House, 
the  Merchants'  House,  and  the  Workmen's  House.  The  united 
sums  the  collectors  laid  upon  the  stones  amounted  to  eleven  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  entire  spectacle  was  both  novel  and  touching. 
Prayers  were  offered  on  the  occasion,  the  influence  of  which  it  is 
believed  will  be  felt  throughout  all  time.  Appropriate  hymns 
were  sung,  each  ceremony  being  conducted  with  verses  specially 
prepared,  the  first  of  which  was  as  follows :  — 

Accept,  O  Lord,  the  grateful  love 
Which  yields  this  house  to  Thee  ; 

And  on  the  Silver  Wedding  House 
Let  blessings  ever  be. 


84  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

It  was  announced  at  the  close  of  the  ceremony  that  in  addition 
to  the  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  given  by  Mrs.  Hillyard,  the 
money  in  hand  was  then  twenty-seven  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  The  assembly  returned  home  highly  delighted  with  the 
service  and  the  glad  tidings  they  had  heard,  whilst  the  pastor, 
worn  out  with  fatigue  and  anxiety,  retired  home  to  rest. 

The  mental  and  physical  strain  of  such  heavy  responsibilities 
was  too  much  for  Mr.  Spurgeon,  who  was  soon  after  laid  aside 
quite  ill.  Although  physically  prostrate,  his  mind  was  in  active 
exercise ;  and  after  being  a  sufferer  for  two  months,  he  wrote  an 
article  for  his  magazine  entitled,  "  On  my  Back,"  in  which  he  sub- 
missively said,  that  after  two  months  of  ill  health  and  severe  pain, 
yet  he  believed  there  was  a  limit  to  sickness,  and  that  Jesus  knew 
all  about  it,  feeling  assured  that  the  design  of  sickness  was  divinely 
good.  This  long  absence  from  the  pulpit  led  to  the  appointment 
of  his  brother,  James  Archer  Spurgeon,  as  co-pastor  to  the  church 
at  the  Tabernacle,  and  he  officially  entered  on  those  duties  in 
January,  1868. 

Although  the  year  1868  did  not  furnish  occasion  for  such  impor- 
tant events  as  the  preceding  one,  yet  was  there  much  earnest  work 
done  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  at  his  Tabernacle.  Not  able  to  do  so  much 
physical  work,  he  used  his  pen  very  freely.  He  wrote  two  articles 
for  his  magazine  to  advocate  the  claims  of  the  Colportage  Associ- 
ation. In  March  he  delivered  at  the  Tabernacle  a  lecture  on  "Our 
History  and  Work,"  with  Mr.  W.  McArthur,  M.P.,  in  the  chair. 
He  also  wrote  an  interesting  article  relating  incidents  in  the  life  of 
his  grandfather.  In  the  month  of  May  he  preached  the  Sermon 
to  Young  Men  at  Mr.  Martin's  Chapel,  Westminster,  on  behalf  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society,  —  a  service  rendered  the  more 
cheerfully,  remembering,  as  he  did,  the  prophetic  words  of  good 
Richard  Knill,  that  he  would  preach  in  the  largest  chapel  in  Lon- 
don. That  was  probably  the  largest  chapel  he  had  preached  in, 
excepting  his  own.  During  the  same  month  he  spoke  at  the 
Breakfast  Meeting  of  the  Congregational  Union. 

In  the  month  of  March  a  generous  friend  sent  to  the  pastor 
five  thousand  dollars  for  the  College  and  five  thousand  dollars  for 
the    Orphanage,  —  such    instances    of  liberality    amply    testifying 


James  Akchkr  Si'Ukgeon,  Co-Pastok. 


MULTIPLYING   WORK.  85 

the  high  estimation  in  which  the  noble  enterprises  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon  were  held  by  the  public.  On  his  birthday,  June  19th,  a 
great  meeting  was  held,  and  liberal  contributions  made  for  the 
Orphanage. 

Bright  as  are  these  spots  in  the  life  of  the  pastor,  and  in  his 
work  at  the  Tabernacle  and  its  belongings,  yet  there  hung  over 
his  home  all  the  time  a  dark  shadow  which  Divine  Providence  saw 
fit  to  place  there.  Mrs.  Spurgeon  had  long  been  a  great  sufferer, 
and  to  alleviate  her  sorrows,  if  possible,  a  very  painful  operation 
had  to  be  undertaken.  The  most  skilful  surgeons  of  the  land  were 
engaged,  under  the  direction  of  Sir  James  Simpson,  of  Edinburgh. 
Prayer  was  made  for  her  by  the  whole  church,  and,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  the  operation  was  so  far  successful  that  her  sufferings  were 
alleviated  and  her  life  prolonged ;  but  it  has  been  a  life  of  pain  and 
weakness,  though  with  less  of  anguish. 

A  gratifying  fact  is  recorded  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  this  year,  who 
publicly  acknowledges  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Palfrey,  of  Finsbury 
Square,  for  his  gratuitous  and  generous  professional  attendance 
on  the  poor  members  of  the  Tabernacle. 

At  Christmastide,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  year,  the  claims 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  benevolent  agencies  were  remembered  by  his 
many  friends,  who  sent  him  of  their  worldly  substance  with  gen- 
erous hands,  so  that  he  commences  the  first  number  of  "  The 
Sword  and  the  Trowel"  for  1869  with  a  most  jubilant  note:  "Bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  " 

He  also  made  the  announcement  that  a  gentleman  in  Australia 
had  written  to  say  he  intended  to  reprint  his  sermons  weekly  in 
that  far-off  land,  to  give  them  a  yet  wider  circulation. 

From  the  very  commencement  of  his  ministry  strange  tales  had 
been  put  into  circulation  by  his  detractors,  most  of  which  Mr. 
Spurgeon  passed  by  in  silence.  Several  very  ludicrous  speeches 
were  attributed  to  him  soon  after  he  became  popular  in  London. 
In  the  midst  of  his  work,  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1869,  the 
voice  of  the  slanderer  was  again  heard,  and  many  were  troubling 
the  busy  pastor  to  know  how  true  were  the  statements  in  circu- 
lation respecting  him.  In  reply  to  all  these,  under  the  head  of 
"  Silly  Tales,"  he  wrote  in  his  magazine:   "  Friends  who  write  us 


86  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

about  silly  tales  may  save  themselves  the  trouble.  We  have  been 
enabled  in  our  ministry  and  in  our  walk  before  God  so  to  act, 
through  grace,  that  we  have  given  no  occasion  for  the  slanderers, 
save  only  that  we  have  kept  the  faith,  and  been  very  jealous  for 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel.  Many  of  the  absurd  stories  still  retailed 
everywhere  are  the  very  same  libels  which  were  repeated  concern- 
ing Rowland  Hill  and  others  long  gone  to  their  rest."  This  reply 
will  serve  its  purpose  in  after  years  as  well  as  now. 

Having  seen  much  of  the  folly  too  frequently  exhibited  at  funer- 
als, he  published  his  views,  with  the  apt  title,  "Funerals;  or,  a 
Black  Business,"  in  which,  after  exposing  the  folly  of  using  feath- 
ers and  gold-headed  sticks  in  carrying  a  dead  body  to  the  grave, 
he  observes :  "  I  would  sooner  be  eaten  by  crows  than  have  pride 
and  pomp  feeding  on  my  little  savings,  which  are  meant  for  my 
bereaved  wife  and  children,  and  not  for  unsuitable,  untimely,  and 
unholy  show.  I  have  heard  that  more  than  four  millions  of  money 
are  squandered  every  year  in  funeral  fopperies.  The  money  buys 
or  hires  silk  scarfs,  brass  nails,  feathers  for  horses,  kid  gloves  and 
gin  for  the  mutes,  and  white  satin  and  black  cloth  for  the  worms. 
It  seems  to  me  to  be  mighty  fine  nonsense,  more  for  the  pride  of 
the  living  than  the  honor  of  the  dead,  more  for  the  profit  of  the 
undertaker  than  any  one  else." 

In  June  of  that  year  the  first  report  of  the  Orphanage  was  issued, 
which  plainly  set  forth  how  earnestly  the  work  had  been  carried  on 
for  it  in  having  the  houses  erected  and  in  getting  them  furnished 
and  occupied.  Twenty-nine  boys  were  then  in  residence,  one  of 
whom  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  workmen  who  had  assisted  in 
building  the  workmen's  house,  the  father  having  died  after  the 
house  was  erected. 

Taking  a  short  holiday  in  July,  Mr.  Spurgeon,  accompanied  by 
a  friend,  climbed  the  summit  of  Hindhead,  in  the  South  of  Eng- 
land, then  paid  a  brief  visit  to  the  Continent.  Soon  after  his 
return  home,  in  October,  he  was  entirely  laid  aside  from  pas- 
toral work  by  a  slight  attack  of  small-pox.  His  friends  became 
seriously  anxious  about  him,  and  special  prayer  was  made  again 
and  again  for  his  recovery.  It  came  slowly,  but  in  anticipation 
thereof  the  first   article  in  the  magazine  for  November  was  "  A 


MULTIPLYING   WORK.  87 

Sermon  from  a  Sick  Preacher."  Possessed  of  such  mighty  faith 
in  God,  and  with  such  indomitable  courage,  Pastor  Spurgcon  finds 
opportunities  for  doing  good,  and  does  it,  whilst  others  are  con- 
sidering what  had  best  be  done.  He  even  wrote  directions  "  How 
to  bear  Affliction." 

During  the  progress  of  his  recovery  he  wrote  a  New  Year's  Let- 
ter to  his  ministering  brethren,  which  commences  his  magazine  for 
1870,  in  which,  with  much  affectionate  earnestness,  he  urges  them, 
even  by  special  means,  if  ordinary  ones  fail,  to  aim  at  the  salvation 
of  the  souls  of  their  congregations ,  enforcing  this  duty  upon  them 
by  the  example  of  the  Ritualists,  who  are  zealous,  working  to 
spread  their  delusions,  especially  amongst  the  poor,  with  whom 
they  know  how  to  succeed  by  bribes  of  bread  and  clothing.  He 
says  he  writes  as  a  sick  man,  but  feels  the  urgency  and  importance 
of  soul-winning. 

The  prostrate  condition  of  the  pastor's  health  for  nearly  three 
months  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  appeal  with  his  pen  for  the 
aid  of  his  friends  in  sustaining  the  benevolent  works  of  the  Taber- 
nacle. In  March,  1870,  his  appeal  took  the  following  form:  "The 
pastorate  of  a  church  of  four  thousand  members,  the  direction  of 
all  its  agencies,  the  care  of  many  churches  arising  from  the  Col- 
lege work ;  the  selection,  education,  and  guidance  in  their  settle- 
ments of  the  students  ;  the  oversight  of  the  Orphanage,  the  editing 
of  a  magazine,  the  production  of  numerous  volumes,  the  publica- 
tion of  a  weekly  sermon,  an  immense  correspondence,  a  fair  share 
in  public  and  denominational  action,  and  many  other  labors,  be- 
sides the  incessant  preaching  of  the  Word,  give  us  a  right  to  ask 
of  our  friends  that  we  be  not  allowed  to  have  an  anxious  thought 
about  the  funds  needed  for  our  enterprises." 

This  remarkable  picture  of  energy  and  activity  will  scarcely  be 
surpassed  by  any  man  living,  if  indeed  it  can  be  equalled  by  more 
than  one  in  a  million,  even  in  this  industrious  age.  But  there  were 
other  duties  pressing  on  Mr,  Spurgeon's  mind,  at  the  time,  which 
he  could  not  throw  off.  For  some  months  previously  a  contro- 
versy had  been  warmly  carried  on  in  the  columns  of  the  "Christian 
World  "  newspaper,  advocating  a  curious  system  of  future  pun- 
ishment ending  in   annihilation.     The  editor  of  the  paper  prohib- 


8S  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

ited  in  his  columns  the  pubhcation  of  any  letters  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  excepting  only  what  Mr.  Spurgcon  might  write.  Mr. 
Spurgeon  wrote  to  the  editor,  pointing  out  that  his  conduct 
was  not  quite  frank,  and  declining  on  his  part  to  help  the  agi- 
tation, telling  him  that  the  words  of  our  Lord  —  "These  shall 
go  away  into  everlasting  punishment"  —  finally  settled  the  point; 
and  he  held  that  the  publication  of  views  which  are  opposed 
to  that  declaration,  and  the  views  themselves,  were  equally 
dangerous. 

Greatly  have  the  funds  of  the  College  been  aided  by  the  lec- 
tures which  its  President  has  given  from  time  to  time  on  its  behalf. 
After  one  of  his  visits  to  Italy  Mr.  Spurgeon  delivered  a  very 
interesting  and  lively  lecture  on  "  Rome,  and  what  I  saw  and 
heard  there."  Some  of  the  reporters  for  the  daily  press  —  not  a 
few  of  whom  are  Jesuits  —  misrepresented  some  very  material 
portions  of  the  lecture  in  their  abridged  account.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
was  obliged  to  defend  himself;  and  what  he  said  against  such 
insidious  foes  in  the  pages  of  his  own  magazine  led  to  another 
kindred  topic  being  brought  before  the  public  about  the  same 
time,  when  these  same  reporters  misled  the  public  mind  by  apply- 
ing to  King  Victor  Immanuel  of  Italy  a  prayer  which  belonged 
only  to  Immanuel,  Victor  over  sin,  the  man  Christ  Jesus. 

In  May,  1870,  Mr.  Spurgeon  sent  forth  a  new  work  entitled 
"  Feathers  for  Arrows,"  intended  to  supply  preachers  and  teach- 
ers with  useful  material  for  filling  up  their  sermons,  lectures,  and 
addresses.  Ten  thousand  copies  of  the  book  were  sold  in  three 
months. 

The  public  mind  was  considerably  agitated  at  that  time  by  the 
action  of  the  School  Board  in  reference  to  religious  teaching  in 
their  schools ;  some  wanting  to  exclude  the  reading  of  the  Bible 
from  them,  and  so  deprive  the  upgrowing  population  of  the  use 
of  the  best  book  in  the  language.  A  large  meeting  was  held  in 
Exeter  Hall,  in  July,  in  defence  of  the  Bible  being  daily  read  in 
elementary  schools.  Mr.  Spurgeon  took  the  chair  on  the  occa- 
sion. The  result  of  the  meeting  was,  the  Bible  retains  its  place 
as  a  daily  school  book.  The  wisdom  of  the  decision  then  made 
has  been  abundantly  manifested  since,  and  especially  so  by  the 


MULTIPLYING  WORK.  89 

great  gathering  of  Board-School  children  in  the  Crystal  Palace  in 
July,  1877,  when  some  thousands  of  prizes  were  publicly  given  to 
the  pupils  for  proficiency  in  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  when  it 
was  most  convincingly  shown  that  parents  in  London  (excepting 
only  a  few  Jews)  do  not  object  to  their  children  being  taught  daily 
from  the  Word  of  God. 


90  LIKE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PSALM   XXXIX. 

Behold,  O  Lord,  my  days  are  made 

A  handbreadth  at  the  most ; 
Ere  yet  'tis  noon  my  flower  must  fade, 

And  I  give  up  the  ghost. 

Then  teach  me,  Lord,  to  know  mine  end, 

And  know  that  I  am  frail ; 
To  Heaven  let  all  my  thoughts  ascend, 

And  let  not  Earth  prevail. 

What  is  there  here  that  I  should  wait  ? 

My  hope  's  in  Thee  alone. 
When  wilt  Thou  open  glory's  gate, 

And  call  me  to  Thy  Throne  ? 

A  stranger  in  this  land  am  I, 

A  sojourner  with  Thee  : 
Oh,  be  not  silent  at  my  cry, 

But  show  Thyself  to  me. 

Though  I  'm  exiled  from  glory's  land, 

Yet  not  from  glory's  King  : 
My  God  is  ever  near  at  hand. 

And  therefore  I  will  sing. 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


VIII. 
RESULTS    OF   OVERWORK. 


Come,  let  us  live  while  we  live  !  Let  us  serve  God  to  the  utmost  stretch  of 
our  manhood  !  Let  us  ask  the  Lord  to  brace  our  nerves,  to  string  our  sinews, 
and  make  us  true  crusaders,  knights  of  the  blood-red  cross,  consecrated  men 
and  women  who,  for  the  love  we  bear  Christ's  name,  will  count  labor  to  be 
ease,  and  suffering  to  be  joy,  and  reproach  to  be  honor,  and  loss  to  be  gain  !  — 
C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


RESULTS    OF    OVERWORK. 


THE  special  religious  services  held  in  February,  at  the  Taber- 
nacle, were  seasons  of  much  blessing.  More  than  one  hun- 
dred members  were  added  to  the  church  in  one  month.  The 
people  went  to  the  services  expecting  to  receive  good,  and  they 
were  not  disappointed. 

Soon  after  the  annual  College  supper,  which  was  held  in  March, 
1 87 1,  at  which  the  sum  of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars 
was  given,  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  laid  aside  by  a  more  than  usually 
severe  attack  of  gout,  which  confined  him  indoors  for  three  long, 
weary  months ;  yet  in  the  midst  of  all  his  pain  and  suffering  he 
wrote  in  July  of  the  great  mercies  he  had  received  from  the  hand 
of  God,  and  by  the  bounty  of  his  friends  to  the  Orphanage  and 
the  College.  It  was  at  the  close  of  this  protracted  attack  of 
bodily  pain  that  he  was  privileged  to  preach  the  sermon  which 
forms  No.  1,000  of  his  published  discourses.  Its  second  title  is 
"Bread  Enough  and  to  Spare,"  and  it  is  based  on  Luke  xv.  17. 
It  was  the  delight  of  the  pastor  to  receive  from  a  friend  five  thou- 
sand dollars  on  behalf  of  the  College,  in  honor  of  the  event  just 
named.  Who  would  not  pray  that  God's  blessing  may  rest  for- 
ever on  that  friend? 

Taking  the  advice  of  his  friends,  Mr.  Spurgeon  proceeded  to 
the  Continent  for  a  short  tour  and  for  rest.  His  observant  eye 
was  constantly  discovering  some  passing  beauty  which  his  ever- 
ready  pencil  recorded  in  his  note-book,  a  book  which  contains  a 
store  of  incidents  which  serve  to  enrich  his  conversation  and  fill 
up  his  magazine.     Accordingly,  taking  Jersey  and  Guernsey  on 


94  LIFE  AND  LABORS  OF  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 

his  way,  we  find  before  the  end  of  the  year  an  interesting  article  . 
from  his  pen,  on  St.  Brelade's  Bay. 

As  the  cold  raw  winter  weather  set  in,  the  beloved  pastor  was 
urged  by  all  his  friends  to  seek  a  warmer  climate.  Illness  in  a 
severe  form  again  overtook  him,  on  the  second  day  of  which  he 
received  a  telegram  from  Boston,  in  America,  offering  most  liberal 
terms  to  him  if  he? would  go  to  that  country  and  deliver  a  series 
of  lectures.  So  large  a  sum  would  have  been  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  most  men,  but  not  so  to  this  minister  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  prompt  reply  was,  "  he  had  neither  time  nor  strength  to 
go  to  America."  Instead  of  journeying  westward  for  personal 
gain,  he  started  on  a  pilgrimage  to  sunny  Italy  and  the  South  of 
France,  taking  what  he  designated  a  Scriptural  holiday,  a  forty 
days'  rest.  Accordingly,  leaving  gloomy  December  in  England, 
he  spent  that  month  in  visiting  Pompeii,  Venice,  Florence,  Rome, 
Naples,  and  France,  —  a  fitting  holiday  after  having  completed 
nineteen  years'  labor  in  London. 

In  taking  a  survey  of  the  work  of  the  year,  for  the  preface  to 
his  magazine,  Mr.  Spurgeon  sums  up  the  record  by  saying  it  had 
been  a  year  of  spiritual  drought  in  the  churches  generally,  but 
at  the  Tabernacle  they  had  witnessed  much  prosperity,  and  the 
trained  pastors  who  had  gone  out  from  them  had  been  also  blessed 
in  like  manner.  Eleven  students  were  appointed  to  pastoral  duty 
during  1872.  During  this  year,  also,  Archibald  G.  Brown  opened 
his  large  Tabernacle  in  the  East  of  London.  It  is  a  building  for 
extent  and  variety  of  Christian  work  second  only  to  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's.  Mr.  Brown  is  one  of  the  most  successful  students  trained 
in  the  Pastors'  College. 

In  the  hope  that  the  genial  sunshine  of  Southern  Europe,  in 
which  he  had  passed  out  of  the  old  into  the  new  year,  would  have 
established  his  health  for  renewed  efforts,  the  pastor  appeared 
once  more  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  at  the  church  meeting  in  Jan- 
uary, 1873,  he  had  the  gratification  of  finding  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  new  members  to  be  received  into  fellowship,  thus  dem- 
onstrating that  there  was  life  in  the  church,  though  its  chief  pastor 
had  been  away.  The  cold,  raw,  damp  weather  continuing  with 
the  new  year,  he  was  again  prevented  from  leaving  his  own  home, 


RESULTS    OF   OVERWORK.  95 

and  for  many  weeks  he  was  unable  to  preach  on  the  Sabbath. 
How  great  a  trial  that  silence  was  to  the  preacher,  none  so  well 
knew  as  himself.  Sorrowing  greatly  at  the  privation  both  to 
himself  and  his  church,  he  yet  submitted  without  murmur  to  the 
will  of  God. 

Shut  in  from  the  outer  world,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  survey- 
ing the  progress  of  the  work  which  was  being  done  at  the  Taber- 
nacle. The  College  reports  exhibited  the  outposts  which  had 
already  been  reached  by  the  students,  one  of  whom  was  laboring 
to  set  forth  Jesus  as  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners,  in  China;  one 
in  Sydney,  one  in  Tasmania,  one  in  Adelaide,  two  in  Madrid,  one 
in  Ontario,  one  in  Ohio,  one  in  Philadelphia,  one  in  South  Africa, 
and  one  in  Toronto.  What  a  vast  prospect  of  work  to  be  done 
in  the  intermediate  spaces  between  each  one  of  those  missionary 
agents  and  the  Tabernacle  ! 

At  the  Annual  Church  Meeting  held  in  February,  1873,  the 
total  membership  was  reported  at  4,417.  The  losses  during  the 
previous  year  had  been  263,  the  additions  were  571,  leaving  a 
net  increase  for  the  year  of  308  living  members.  Well  may  both 
pastor  and  deacons  rejoice  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God  in 
their  midst.  At  this  date  came  a  renewed  application  from  the 
United  States  to  come  over  and  lecture.  Note  the  preacher's 
reply:  "  An  American  firm  offer  Mr.  Spurgeon  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  deliver  twenty-five  lectures  in  that  country,  at  one 
thousand  dollars  each,  and  further  arrangements  can  be  made  for 
one  hundred  lectures.  Although  the  remuneration  offered  is  very 
far  beyond  anything  our  beloved  people  are  likely  to  give  us,  we 
prefer  to  have  the  gospel  according  to  our  Lord's  words  preached 
freely,  rather  than  to  use  the  Lord's  time  for  earning  money  for 
our  own  purse."     Well  done.  Pastor  Spurgeon  !  !  ! 

Always  sympathizing  with  the  oppressed,  it  did  not  surprise 
any  one  to  learn  that  the  Fisk  Jubilee  Singers  received  an  early 
invitation  from  the  pastor  and  deacons  to  give  one  of  their  con- 
certs in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
determine  which  party  experienced  the  most  delight,  the  colored 
singers  to  go  and  see  and  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon  speak  in  his  own 
church,  or  his  congregation   to  welcome,   with  all   the   heartiness 


96  LIFE    AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

they  could  manifest,  those  hberated  slaves,  whose  vocal  powers 
had  by  anticipation  preceded  their  visit,  to  insure  them  a  hearty 
greeting.  It  was  indeed  a  pleasant  hour,  that  which  introduced 
the  singers  to  the  vast  mass  of  people  which  crowded  every  inch 
of  space  in  the  building  to  hear  them.  Indeed,  hundreds  had  to 
go  away,  unable  to  crowd  in  anywhere  within  sight  or  hearing. 
And  the  collection  which  followed  it  was  right  royal  in  amount. 
They  cleared  about  eleven  hundred  dollars  for  their  University  by 
singing  at  the  Tabernacle  alone.  The  effect  on  the  mind  of  the 
pastor  himself,  he  thus  describes  in  his  own  magazine :  "  The 
melodies  were  rendered  by  our  emancipated  friends  in  a  manner 
altogether  unique :  we  have  never  heard  anything  like  it ;  pure 
nature  untrammelled  by  rule,  pouring  forth  its  notes  as  freely  as 
the  wild  birds  in  the  spring.  The  people  were  charmed :  our 
intercourse  with  the  choir  was  very  pleasant."  As  soon  as  the 
singers  arrived  in  London  on  their  second  tour,  they  received  an 
earnest  invitation  to  repeat  their  visit  to  the  Metropolitan  Taber- 
nacle. 

As  the  practical  pastor  was  again  charged  with  being  too  per- 
sonal in  preaching,  in  one  of  his  articles  on  "  Personal  preaching," 
Mr.  Spurgeon  remarks :  "  We  aim  at  speaking  personally  and 
pointedly  to  all  our  hearers;  and  they  are  the  best  judges  whether 
we  accomplish  it,  and  also  as  to  whether  we  use  language  at  which 
any  man  ought  to  be  offended.  Very  seldom  does  a  week  occur 
without  our  receiving  letters  from  persons  unknown  to  us,  thank- 
ing us  for  advising  or  comforting  them  in  our  sermons,  the  parties 
evidently  being  under  the  impression  that  some  friend  had  com- 
municated their  cases  to  us,  though,  indeed,  we  knew  nothing 
whatever  of  them.  Frequently  "dl^tiave  had  apologetic  notes 
acknowledging  the  justice  of  the^Kuke,  and  correcting  us  in 
some  minor  details  of  a  description  supposed  to  refer  to  a  special 
sinner ;  whereas  we  were  unaware  of  the  writer's  existence.  We 
have  ceased  to  regard  these  incid9<its  as  curious,  for  we  remember 
that  the  Word  of  God  is  '  a.  Mjj^vnev  of  the  thoughts  and  intents 
of  the  heart.'  "  Strange  anTrinteresting  facts  have  often  reached 
him.  At  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ministry  he  related 
having  received  a  letter  from  a  poor  shoemaker  during  the  week, 


RESULTS   OF   OVERWORK.  97 

who  said  that  he  was  the  man  who  had  kept  his  shop  open  on  the 
Sunday,  who  had  sold  only  one  pair  of  old  boots  for  one-and- 
eightpencc,  and  that,  having  broken  the  Sabbath  for  so  small  a 
sum  and  been  so  publicly  exposed,  none  but  God  could  have  told 
the  facts  to  the  preacher,  he  had  resolved  to  break  the  Sabbath 
no  longer.  He  became  converted,  and  joined  the  church ;  but 
the  preacher  had  no  knowledge  of  the  man  till  he  wrote  about 
himself 

During  the  spring  weather  of  '73  Mr.  Spurgeon  did  not  recover 
his  accustomed  health,  neither  did  he  give  up  his  accustomed 
work,  excepting  when  really  unable  to  leave  home.  At  the  end 
of  April  he  preached  one  of  the  annual  sermons  before  the  Wes- 
leyan  Missionary  Society,  in  Great  Queen-street  Chapel,  to  the 
largest  congregation  ever  assembled  on  a  similar  occasion,  at  the 
close  of  which  the  collection  reached  an  amount  greater  than  had 
ever  before  been  made  for  that  object. 

In  June  he  took  part  in  the  services  connected  with  laying 
memorial  stones  for  a  new  Baptist  chapel  near  his  own  residence 
at  Clapham.  He  stated  that  it  had  long  been  in  his  heart  to  build 
a  chapel  in  that  locality,  and  he  had  laid  aside  one  thousand  dol- 
lars to  commence  the  work,  but  all  his  efforts  had  failed.  He  was 
glad  that  others  were  doing  what  he  had  not  been  able  to  do. 
He  had  himself  been  delighted  that  year  to  preach  for  the  Wes- 
leyans,  and  to  speak  for  the  Independents;  but  he  urged  ail 
Baptists  residing  in  that  district  to  give  to  the  church  which 
intended  to  assemble  in  that  new  erection.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  year  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  made  a  collection  at  the  Tabernacle 
on  behalf  of  the  new  Surrey  Chapel  for  Mr.  Newman  Hall,  which 
reached  five  hundred  dollars. 

In  taking  a  survey  of  the  literary  work  of  "  The  Sword  and  the 
Trowel"  for  the  year,  the  editor  in  his  preface  for  1873  remarks: 
"  I  have  been  hunting  up  topics  of  interest  with  no  small  degree 
of  anxiety,  sending  forth  the  magazine  with  earnest  desires  to  win 
a  hearing  and  to  produce  good  results  of  all  kinds.  I  edit  the 
periodical  most  conscientiously,  giving  it  my  personal  attention, 
and  I  spare  no  pains  to  make  it  as  good  as  I  can." 

The  applications  made  to  the  College  for  pastors  during  1873 

7 


98  LIFE  AND  LABORS  OF  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 

were  more  numerous  than  had  before  been  made.  Thirty  of  these 
were  suppUed.  Out  of  that  number  two  were  sent  to  Spain,  one 
to  India,  one  to  China,  one  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  one  to 
Ireland,  and  one  to  Scotland.  On  the  14th  of  October  the  foun- 
dation-stone of  the  new  College  buildings  was  laid  by  the  Presi- 
dent. It  was  a  day  which  will  long  be  remembered  with  delight. 
The  people  on  the  occasion  gave  five  thousand  dollars,  and  the 
students  gave  fifteen  hundred  more;  but  the  chief  joy  of  the  day 
was  the  whole-day  prayer-meeting  which  the  students  held,  that 
the  divine  blessing  might  rest  on  the  work,  and  upon  all  connected 
with  the  College. 


IX. 

TRIALS    AND    DELIVERANCES. 


There  is  a  trying  word  and  a  delivering  word,  and  we  must  bear  the  one  till 
the  other  comes  to  us.  How  meekly  Joseph  endured  his  afflictions,  and  with 
what  fortitude  he  looked  forward  to  the  clearing  of  his  slandered  character! 
It  will  be  well  if,  under  similar  trials,  we  are  able  to  imitate  him  and  come  forth 
from  the  furnace  as  thoroughly  purified  as  he  was,  and  as  well  prepared  to  bear 
the  yet  sterner  ordeal  of  honor  and  power.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


TRIALS   AND    DELIVERANCES. 


THE  year  1874  presented  but  few  varieties  in  the  life  and 
work  of  the  pastor  at  the  Tabernacle.  Of  blessings  he  had 
many,  and  of  trials  not  a  few;  but  the  work  prospered.  In  May 
the  funds  of  the  Orphanage  ran  dry,  and,  as  there  was  urgent 
need  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  each  week,  earnest  efforts  were 
required.  On  May  the  8th  all  the  debts  were  paid ;  but  the  bank 
was  empty.  There  was  urgent  pleading  with  God,  and  on  that 
very  day  two  thousand  dollars  was  sent  in,  so  that  the  orphans 
were  thereby  provided  for  during  another  month.  In  October 
the  funds  were  exhausted  again ;  and  again,  in  answer  to  prayer 
and  effort,  the  needed  relief  came,  though  the  faith  of  all  was 
tried.  At  that  time  the  pastor  was  suffering  greatly,  both  in  his 
person  and  family;  his  body  was  weary  with  rheumatic  pains,  his 
dear  wife  a  suffering  invalid,  the  care  of  a  church  of  four  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  members  rested  upon  him,  and  the  cry  of  the 
orphans  was  heard  for  bread ;  in  the  midst  of  all,  his  faith  failed 
not;  he  wrote  his  assurance  that  the  Lord  will  provide.  Amongst 
other  kind  of  help  which  came,  Messrs.  Cory,  of  Cardiff,  sent  for 
the  good  of  the  Orphanage  five  thousand  dollars. 

The  annual  meetings  for  prayer  in  February,  the  yearly  church 
meeting  for  reporting  the  progress  of  the  several  agencies  at  work, 
and  the  annual  supper  in  March  for  the  benefit  of  the  College, 
were  each  times  of  refreshing  and  blessing,  in  both  spiritual  and 
material  things.     In  May  the  congregation  at  the  Tabernacle  had 


I02  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  delightful  satisfaction  of  hearing  the  Rev.  George  Miiller,  of 
Bristol,  preach  to  them.  After  carrying  on  his  wonderful  Orphan 
Houses  near  that  city  for  forty  years,  he  felt  constrained  to  go 
forth  on  a  preaching  pilgrimage,  to  declare  the  goodness  of  God, 
and  to  try  and  stimulate  the  faith  of  the  Lord's  people,  and  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  church  shared  in  his  ministrations.  It  was  a  fitting 
cordial  welcome  to  a  man  who  was  the  very  embodiment  of  that 
faith  by  which  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Orphanage  had  been  erected  and 
maintained  hitherto;  and  Mr.  Muller's  discourse  embodied  much 
of  his  own  personal  experience  of  what  God  had  done  by  and 
through  him,  in  erecting  Orphan  Houses  on  Ashley  Downs,  free 
from  debt,  in  which  two  thousand  children  are  daily  fed,  clothed, 
and  educated.  To  the  long  record  of  God's  faithful  ones,  written 
by  the  Apostle  Paul,  must  be  added  what  was  done  by  the  faith 
of  George  Miiller  and  his  helpers  at  Bristol,  and  by  Pastor  C.  H. 
Spurgeon  and  his  helpers  at  Stockwell. 

Having  had  repeated  invitations  to  preach  in  Bedford,  in  what 
is  known  as  the  New  Bunyan  Meeting,  Mr.  Spurgeon  visited  that 
place  in  the  summer  of  1874,  but  the  crowds  which  assembled  to 
hear  him  made  it  impossible  for  any  building  for  public  worship 
to  hold  them.  Mr.  Howard  kindly  met  the  people's  wants,  and 
had  one  of  his  large  implement  sheds  fitted  up  for  worship,  and 
there  the  voice  of  praise  and  prayer  ascended  to  heaven  from 
thousands  of  voices.  It  was  a  memorable  day  for  Bedford,  which 
the  people  will  not  let  pass  from  their  recollection. 

In  the  summer  of  1874  a  great  cry  was  raised  against  Mr.  Spur- 
geon for  a  public  utterance  in  favor  of  smoking  tobacco,  which 
was  made  use  of  by  the  press  and  jealous  rivals  to  lessen  his 
influence.     In  his  own  defence  he  wrote  as  follows :  — 

"  I  demur  altogether  and  most  positively  to  the  statement  that 
to  smoke  tobacco  is  in  itself  a  sin.  It  may  become  so,  as  any 
other  indifferent  action  may,  but  as  an  action  it  is  no  sin.  To- 
gether with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  my  fellow-Christians,  I  have 
smoked ;  and  with  them  I  am  under  the  condemnation  of  living 
in  habitual  sin,  if  certain  accusers  are  to  be  believed.  As  I  would 
not  knowingly  live  even  in  the  smallest  violation  of  the  law  of 
God,  and  sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law,  I  will  not  own  to  sin 


TRIALS   AND    DELIVERANCES.  IO3 

when  I  am  not  conscious  of  it.  There  is  growing  up  in  society 
a  Pharisaic  system  which  adds  to  the  commands  of  God  the  pre- 
cepts of  men ;  to  that  system  I  will  not  yield  for  an  hour.  The 
preservation  of  my  liberty  may  bring  upon  me  the  upbraidings  of 
many  of  the  good,  and  the  sneers  of  the  self-righteous :  but  I 
shall  endure  both  with  serenity,  so  long  as  I  feel  clear  in  my 
conscience  before  God. 

"  The  expression  '  smoking  to  the  glory  of  God  '  standing  alone 
has  an  ill  sound,  and  I  do  not  justify  it;  but  in  the  sense  in  which 
I  employed  it  I  still  stand  to  it.  No  Christian  should  do  anything 
in  which  he  cannot  glorify  God  —  and  this  may  be  done,  according 
to  Scripture,  in  eating  and  drinking  and  the  common  actions  of 
life.  When  I  have  found  intense  pain  relieved,  a  weary  brain 
soothed,  and  calm,  refreshing  sleep  obtained  by  a  cigar,  I  have 
felt  grateful  to  God,  and  have  blessed  His  name ;  this  is  what  I 
meant,  and  by  no  means  did  I  use  sacred  words  triflingly.  If 
through  smoking  I  had  wasted  an  hour  of  my  time;  if  I  had 
stinted  my  gifts  to  the  poor ;  if  I  had  rendered  my  mind  less 
vigorous,  I  trust  I  should  see  my  fault  and  turn  from  it:  but  he 
who  charges  me  with  these  things  shall  have  no  answer  but  my 
forgiveness. 

"  I  am  told  that  my  open  avowal  will  lessen  my  influence,  and 
my  reply  is  that  if  I  have  gained  any  influence  through  being 
thought  different  from  what  I  am,  I  have  no  wish  to  retain  it.  I 
will  do  nothing  upon  the  sly,  and  nothing  about  which  I  have  a 
doubt. 

"  I  am  most  sorry  that  prominence  has  been  given  to  what 
seems  to  me  so  small  a  matter —  and  the  last  thing  in  my  thoughts 
would  have  been  the  mention  of  it  from  the  pulpit;  but  I  was 
placed  in  such  a  position  th^it  I  must  either  by  my  silence  plead 
guilty  to  living  in  sin,  or  else  bring  down  upon  my  unfortunate 
self  the  fierce  rebukes  of  the  anti-tobacco  advocates  by  speaking 
out  honestly.  I  chose  the  latter;  and  although  I  am  now  the 
target  for  these  worthy  brethren,  I  would  sooner  endure  their 
severest  censures  than  sneakingly  do  what  I  could  not  justify,  and 
earn  immunity  from  their  criticism  by  tamely  submitting  to  be 
charged  with  sin  in  an  action  which  my  conscience  allows." 


I04  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

This  is  a  noble  reply,  but  let  no  one  for  a  moment  suppose  that 
Pastor  Spurgeon  advocates  the  general  use  of  tobacco.  By  no 
means.  And  let  his  accusers  remember  that  indulgence  in  expen- 
sive dress,  or  eating  and  drinking,  is  not  allowable  to  themselves 
because  they  refrain  from  the  use  of  tobacco.  Those  who  would 
wash  the  disciples'  feet  should  do  so  with  clean  hands. 

One  of  the  most  gratifying  services  at  the  Tabernacle,  during 
the  year  1874,  was  that  held  on  Monday,  September  21,  when  the 
pastor's  heart  was  delighted  by  admitting  both  of  his  sons  into 
church  fellowship  by  public  baptism.  One  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sis- 
ters has  long  been  a  member  there,  and  now  his  two  boys,  Charles 
and  Thomas,  have  both  a  name  and  a  place  in  the  church.  Before 
they  had  been  in  communion  with  the  church  a  year  they  began 
to  address  a  small  congregation  at  Bolingbroke  Road,  Clapham, 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  One  of  the  brothers  took  the  service  in  the 
morning,  and  the  other  in  the  evening :  thus  they  were  both,  in 
their  eighteenth  year,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  their  father  and 
their  ancestors  for  several  generations.  May  the  blessing  of  their 
fathers'  God  rest  upon  and  ever  abide  with  them. 

More  numerous  than  ever  before  were  the  applications  for 
pastors  from  the  Tabernacle  College.  During  the  year  1874  the 
new  buildings  had  been  opened,  and  they  had  been  found  all 
that  could  be  desired  for  the  convenience,  comfort,  and  health  of 
the  men.  The  educational  staff  had  been  increased,  and  additional 
facilities  for  extending  the  knowledge  of  the  students  afforded. 
Thirty-seven  students  were  located  during  the  year,  three  of  whom 
were  sent  to  the  United  States,  and  one  to  Scotland.  Up  to  the 
end  of  1874  the  total  number  of  students  who  had  gone  out  as 
pastors  was  three  hundred  and  twenty. 

Probably  no  preacher  of  the  present  day  has  received  more 
tokens  of  affectionate  regard,  both  private  and  public,  personal 
and  collective,  than  Pastor  Spurgeon.  These  might  be  mentioned 
by  the  score,  but  it  will  suffice  to  allude  to  one  special  instance. 

When  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  completed  his  pastorate  of  twenty-one 
years,  some  of  his  friends  resolved  to  mark  their  sense  of  the  value 
of  his  services  by  a  present  of  ten  thousand  dollars  and  a  writ- 
ten memorial.     On  hearing  of  what  was  contemplated,  the  pastor 


TRIALS   AND   DELIVERANCES.  IO5 

declined  the  financial  part  of  the  proposal,  suggesting  that  their 
gifts  find  their  way  to  the  collection  at  the  College  supper. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  church-members  held  on  Jan.  5,  1875,  a 
very  elegantly  written  testimonial,  expressive  of  their  devout  grati- 
tude to  God  for  having  sustained  C.  H.  Spurgeon  through  twenty- 
one  years  of  faithful,  loving,  and  eminently  successful  ministry, 
beyond  all  precedent  in  the  history  of  the  Lord's  people,  was  pre- 
sented. It  was  a  superb  and  elaborate  piece  of  penmanship,  and 
in  the  border  were  inserted  correct  photographic  portraits  both  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon  and  his  brother  James,  the  co-pastor.  The  portraits 
will  remain  as  permanent  representations  of  the  two  brothers  in 
the  prime  of  life. 

The  voice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  was  the  foremost  theme 
in  "  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel  "  for  January,  1875.  The  subject 
was  "Twenty  Years  of  Published  Sermons."  In  an  article  extend- 
ing to  several  pages  the  Editor  gives  a  brief  history  of  the  way  his 
sermons  first  began  to  appear  in  print,  followed  by  a  glance  at 
their  continuance  during  a  period  of  twenty  years.  He  informs 
us  that  as  a  youth  he  took  great  delight  in  reading  the  sermons 
of  Joseph  Irons  as  they  appeared ;  and  he  even  then  conceived 
in  his  heart  that  one  day  he  might  have  a  penny  pulpit  of  his  own. 
The  dream  of  his  boyhood  has  been  realized,  and  he  gratefully 
acknowledges  the  hand  of  God  in  permitting  him  to  issue  one 
sermon  at  the  least  every  week,  without  a  single  omission,  for 
the  last  twenty  years.  This  is  a  privilege  and  an  honor  no  other 
man  in  England  has  attained  to ;  and  the  plain,  homely,  earnest 
manner  in  which  the  gospel  has  been  set  forth  in  those  sermons 
is  set  down  by  the  author  as  the  chief  cause  of  their  continuance. 
Commencing  with  a  sale  of  from  one  to  two  thousand  weekly,  they 
rapidly  increased  till  the  sale  was  ten  thousand  each  issue.  For 
many  years  past  the  sermons  have  maintained  a  steady  and  per- 
manent sale  of  twenty-five  thousand  copies.  There  is  a  twofold 
marvel  connected  with  these  sermons :  the  first  is  that  the  work 
should  have  been  continued  so  many  years  without  interruption ; 
the  second,  that  the  sale  should  have  steadily  progressed  till  they 
had  reached  so  large  a  weekly  demand,  and  that  it  has  been  so 
many  years  maintained  at  that  large  number.     The  sermons  are 


I06  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON, 

to  be  found  in  every  country  in  the  world,  and  at  a  moderate 
comi3utation  they  have  been  read  during  the  past  twenty  years 
by  milHons  of  people.  Many  hundreds  of  persons  have  been 
converted  by  their  perusal,  and  thousands  of  preachers  have  at 
various  times  either  used  them  in  their  published  form,  or  adapted 
them  to  the  congregations  to  which  they  have  been  preached  by 
others  than  their  author.  One  Scotch  minister  translates  the  ser- 
mons into  Gaelic,  and  from  his  Gaelic  translates  them  back  into 
English,  by  which  process  he  preserves  the  thoughts,  but  totally 
loses  the  phraseology  used  by  Mr.  Spurgeon ;  and  in  that  form 
preaches  or  reads  them  to  his  people. 

One  gentleman  had  copies  handsomely  bound  and  presented  to 
every  crowned  head  in  Europe.  A  smaller  volume  was  sent,  post 
free,  to  every  student  in  all  the  English  universities,  and  to  all  the 
members  of  both  houses  of  Parliament.  That  gentleman  alone 
gave  away  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  copies  of  the  sermons, 
and  superintended  their  distribution  himself 

With  such  a  history,  well  may  the  preacher  close  his  own 
account  of  his  sermon-publishing  labors  with  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist:  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me 
bless  His  holy  name  !  " 

But  however  jubilant  the  tone  of  the  first  article  in  the  January 
magazine,  it  was  not  long  before  the  pastor  realized  how  uncertain 
were  earthly  joys,  and  how  soon  they  are  mixed  with  sorrows. 
Naturally  buoyant  in  spirit,  he  was  preparing  to  escape  from  the 
severe  cold  of  January  by  a  visit  to  Mentone,  where  a  genial  sun 
shines  all  the  year  round.  Gout  and  rheumatic  pains  came  on  with 
such  rapidity  and  severity  that  removal  from  home  was  impossible. 
His  condition  will  be  best  described  in  his  own  words :  — 

"  Just  preparing  for  a  journey  to  Mentone  when  gout  and  rheu- 
matism came  on  with  such  rapidity  and  severity  that  removal  was 
impossible.  Feet  and  legs  became  useless  except  for  suffering. 
\Vc  had  much  to  do,  but  were  not  permitted  even  to  think  of  the 
many  plans  of  usefulness  open.  Dr.  Palfrey  attended,  and  inti- 
mated that  the  disease  springs  from  mental  causes,  and  can  be  as 
fairly  reckoned  upon  when  an  extra  pressure  of  care  or  labor 
occurs  as  the  tides  may  be  calculated  by  the  moon. 


TRIALS    AND    DELIVERANCES.  \OJ 

"  We  have  received  many  prescriptions  for  the  gout,  and  should 
have  been  dead  long  ago  if  we  had  tried  half  of  them.  We  arc 
grateful,  but  cannot  utilize  them.  The  best  remedy  is  to  prevent 
our  having  any  anxiety  about  the  College,  Orphanage,  or  the  Col- 
portage.  If  the  funds  keep  up,  and  the  works  are  carried  on,  and 
the  Lord's  blessing  rests  upon  the  enterprises,  they  will  be  better 
to  us  than  all  the  lotions,  liniments,  specifics,  and  elixirs  put  to- 
gether, with  twenty  sorts  of  magnetisms  thrown  in." 

After  many  weeks  of  intense  suffering  relief  came ;  and  a  brief 
holiday  for  change  was  followed  by  a  renewed  application  to  the 
numerous  daily  duties  of  his  active  life.  Resuming  his  Sunday 
morning  preaching,  he  found  Mr.  Ira  D.  Sankey  one  of  his  audit- 
ors, and  at  the  close  of  the  service  the  American  evangelist  led 
the  congregation  by  singing  one  of  his  favorite  hymns,  "  Ring  the 
Bells  of  Heaven."  Mr.  Spurgeon  shortly  afterwards  manifested  his 
sympathy  with  the  work  carried  on  by  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey 
by  inviting  them  to  take  part  in  the  College  anniversary,  and  by  his 
delivering  addresses  for  them  at  the  noonday  prayer-meetings, 
and  by  preaching.  Mr.  Moody  visited  Mr.  Spurgeon  at  his  resi- 
dence at  Clapham,  and  after  dinner  learned  from  his  host  some 
lessons  of  practical  encouragement  in  his  great  evangelistic  work. 
Looking  over  the  portraits  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  twin  boys,  —  for 
which  they  both  sat  annually  from  infancy  till  they  were  seventeen 
years  old,  to  show  their  gradual  growth,  —  Mr.  Moody  has  since 
used  the  fact  as  a  new  illustration  for  his  sermons. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
held  in  Exeter  Hall,  Mr.  Spurgeon  moved  the  adoption  of  the  reso- 
lution of  thanks  to  the  committee  and  officers ;  and  in  doing  so 
stated  very  plainly  that  the  distribution  of  the  Bible  was  the  best 
remedy  against  infidelity,  ritualism,  and  all  other  evils ;  and  the 
study  of  its  pages  tended  to  bring  all  Christians  nearer  to  each 
other.  He  prefaced  his  address  by  relating  an  incident  which 
occurred  to  him  three  years  previously,  which  is  as  follows.  Sit- 
ting in  the  Colosseum  at  Rome  with  two  or  three  friends,  he  said: 
"  Is  it  not  glorious  to  look  at  this  old  ruin  and  see  how  Christ  has 
conquered  here ;  how  all  these  ruins  tell  what  desolations  He  hath 
made  in  the  earth ;   how  He  breaketh  the  bow  and  scattereth  the 


I08  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

spear  in  sunder?     So  I  said,  '  Let  us  have  a  tune,'  and  we  sang 

the  verse,  — 

'Jesus'  tremendous  name 

Has  put  our  foes  to  flight ; 
Jesus,  the  meek,  the  humble  lamb, 
A  lion  is  in  fight.' 

Up  came  two  strangers,  and  said,  'What  is  that  you  are  singing? 
Let  us  join  you.'  One  was  an  American  and  the  other  an  Enghsh 
clergyman,  and  we  sang  together  the  next  verse,  — 

'  By  all  hell's  host  withstood, 

We  all  hell's  host  o'erthrow  ; 
And  conquering  them  through  Jesus'  blood. 
We  still  to  conquer  go.' 

And  so  we  shall  mark  our  track  by  the  ruin  of  our  adversaries; 
they  shall  only  be  remembered  by  the  place  which  they  once 
inhabited,  which  shall  be  a  desolation  and  the  habitation  of  the 
bittern  for  ever  and  ever." 

Before  closing  his  address,  he  related  the  following  anecdote: 
"  I  have  very  seldom  found  it  to  be  a  lost  thing  to  give  a  present 
of  a  Testament.  I  was  greatly  astonished  about  a  month  ago.  A 
cabman  drove  me  home,  and  when  I  paid  him  his  fare,  he  said: 
*  A  long  time  since  I  drove  you  last,  sir !  '  '  But,'  said  I,  '  I  do  not 
recollect  you  !  '  *  Well,'  he  said,  *  I  think  it  is  fourteen  years  ago; 
but,'  he  said,  *  perhaps  you  will  know  this  Testament !  '  pulling 
one  out  of  his  pocket.  'What,'  I  said,  'did  I  give  you  that?' 
'  Oh,  yes,'  he  said,  '  and  you  spoke  to  me  about  my  soul,  and 
nobody  had  done  that  before,  and  I  have  never  forgotten  it.* 
'What,'  said  I,  'haven't  you  worn  it  out?'  'No,'  he  said,  'I 
would  not  wear  it  out;  I  have  had  it  bound!  '  —  and  he  had  kept 
it  very  carefully  indeed." 

Just  at  that  period  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  were  in  the  midst 
of  their  evangelistic  labors  in  London,  and  Mr.  Spurgeon  cheer- 
fully and  heartily  encouraged  those  earnest  men  of  God.  Early 
in  May  he  preached  for  Mr.  Moody  one  Friday  evening  to  ten 
thousand  people  in  Bow-road  Hall,  on  the  healing  of  the  deaf  and 
dumb  man,  as  recorded  in  Mark  vii.  24-27.  The  sermon  occu- 
pied nearly  an  hour  in  delivery,  and  was  simple,  natural,  and  prac- 


TRIALS   AND   DELIVERANCES.  J  09 

tical,  and  was  listened  to  with  the  attention  of  persons  who  seemed 
to  be  Hstening  for  life.  Few  of  those  who  were  present,  and  who 
admired  the  power  of  his  voice  and  the  vigor  of  his  thoughts,  knew 
that  he  had  spoken  for  two  hours  that  afternoon  to  the  students  of 
his  College. 

A  great  grief  overshadowed  the  church  at  the  Tabernacle  near 
the  end  of  the  month  of  July,  when  it  was  announced  that  Mrs. 
Bartlett  was  seriously  ill ;  and  after  only  a  week's  illness  the  labors 
of  her  most  loving  and  useful  life  were  terminated  on  August  2. 
On  Friday,  August  6,  a  funeral  service  was  held  in  the  Taber- 
nacle, and  the  interment  took  place  the  same  afternoon  in  Nunhead 
Cemetery.  The  suffering  pastor  bowed  submissively  to  that  divine 
dispensation,  knowing  that  the  hand  of  God  was  in  it. 


no  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PSALM  XLI. 

Jesus,  poorest  of  the  poor! 

Man  of  sorrows  !     Child  of  grief  ! 
Happy  they  whose  bounteous  store 

Ministered  to  Thy  reUef. 

Jesus,  though  Thy  head  is  crowned, 
Crowned  with  loftiest  majesty, 

In  Thy  members  Thou  art  found 
Plunged  in  deepest  poverty. 

Happy  they  who  wash  Thy  feet, 
Visit  Thee  in  Thy  distress  ! 

Honor  great,  and  labor  sweet. 

For  Thy  sake  the  saints  to  bless  ! 

They  who  feed  Thy  sick  and  faint, 
For  Thyself  a  banquet  find  ; 

They  who  clothe  the  naked  saint, 
Round  Thy  loins  the  raiment  bind. 

Thou  wilt  keep  their  soul  alive, 

From  their  foes  protect  their  head ; 
Languishing,  their  strength  revive. 
And  in  sickness  make  their  bed. 

Thou  wilt  deeds  of  love  repay ; 

Grace  shall  generous  hearts  reward 
Here  on  earth,  and  in  the  day 

When  they  meet  their  reigning  Lord. 


C.  H.  Spurgf.on. 


X. 
DEVISING    LIBERAL   THINGS. 


Let  not  your  zeal  evaporate  in  a  mere  mist  of  pious  talk,  let  it  flow  in  streams 
of  practical  usefulness.  Love  the  brethren  of  Him  who  loved  you.  If  there 
be  a  Mephibosheth  anywhere  who  is  lame  or  halt,  help  him  for  that  Jonathan's 
sake  whose  love  tous  surpasseth  the  love  of  women.  If  there  be  a  poor  tried 
believer,  weep  with  him,  and  bear  his  cross  for  the  sake  of  Him  who  wept  for 
you  and  carried  the  painful  burden  of  your  sins.  —  C.  H.   Spurgeon. 


DEVISING    LIBERAL   THINGS. 


THE  work  of  Mrs.  Bartlett  at  the  Tabernacle  has  been  one  of 
the  greatest  blessings  of  the  place.  That  lady,  born  in  the 
country  in  1807,  was  converted  to  God  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and 
immediately  she  began  to  persuade  others  around  her  to  give  their 
hearts  to  God.  She  became  an  earnest  and  devoted  praying 
teacher  in  the  Sunday-school,  and  soon  saw  some  of  the  children 
turning  to  God.  She  then  began  to  visit  the  villages  around  her 
house,  and  was  the  means  of  doing  much  good  in  that  way.  After 
her  marriage,  and  with  a  family  claiming  her  attention,  she  came 
to  London,  and,  attending  New  Park-street  Chapel,  good  Deacon 
Olney  invited  her,  in  1859,  to  take  charge  of  the  senior  class  con- 
nected with  the  Sunday-school,  which  had  then  only  three  in 
attendance.  Suffering  from  heart  disease,  she  consented  to  take 
the  class  for  only  one  month,  during  which  time  it  had  increased 
to  fourteen.  Supported  in  her  work,  her  strong  faith  in  God  led 
her  to  say,  "  God  has  given  me  strength  for  one  month.  He  will 
surely  give  me  strength  for  another."  In  1861,  when  the  new 
Tabernacle  was  opened,  the  class  had  increased  to  fifty.  Such 
was  the  influence  of  her  earnest,  loving  words  on  the  young 
women,  that  soon  they  numbered  a  hundred,  then  two  and  three, 
and  in  a  short  time  five  hundred  attended  her  services  every  Sab- 
bath day,  and  many  of  them  came  also  on  Tuesday  and  Friday ; 
whilst  at  her  own  house,  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  called  the  "  House 
of  Mercy,"  she  was  constantly  receiving  anxious  inquirers  after 
salvation.  The  blessing  of  God  so  abundantly  rested  upon  her 
labors,  that  fully  one  hundred  of  her  members  joined  the  church 


114  lAVE    AND    LABORS    OF    C.    11.    Sl'L'RGEON, 

annually.  They  generously  collected  and  gave  thousands  of  dollars 
to  the  funds  of  the  Pastors'  College,  besides  contributing  to  relieve 
the  wants  of  the  poor  in  the  locality. 

During  the  year  1875  twenty-nine  of  the  students  from  the 
Pastors'  College  were  sent  into  the  field  of  ministerial  labor,  three 
of  whom  went  into  the  work  abroad,  one  to  Rio  Janeiro,  one  to 
San  Domingo,  and  one  to  China. 

Before  the  year  closed,  a  change  from  the  damp  cold  of  the 
November  fogs  in  London  to  the  genial  sunshine  at  Mentone,  in 
South  Europe,  was  a  necessity  for  the  overworked  pastor.  Whilst 
resting  in  the  sunny  South,  Mr.  Spurgeon  wrote  some  pleasant 
Recollections  of  Dr.  Brock.  Dining  one  day  at  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
house,  Father  Olney  was  present,  and  Dr.  Brock  stated  that  he 
had  preached  at  Park-street  Chapel  once  or  twice  when  a  student 
at  Stepney  College,  but  he  supposed  he  was  not  man  enough  for 
them,  as  he  was  not  invited  to  succeed  Dr.  Rippon.  The  good 
deacon  remarked  that  the  people  were  much  struck  with  him,  but 
he  himself  was  not  in  office  in  those  days,  so  had  not  dared  to 
interfere  with  the  august  authorities  then  in  power.  "  See  how  all 
things  are  determined  by  a  superintending  Providence,"  replied 
the  Doctor;  "for  if  the  Park-street  people  had  chosen  me,  where 
would  our  friend  Spurgeon  have  come  to?  " 

On  another  occasion  Dr.  Brock  and  Mr.  Spurgeon  were  dining 
together  at  the  mansion  of  a  beloved  friend  in  Regent's  Park, 
when  the  Orphanage  building  was  in  progress,  and  money  was 
wanted  which  was  not  in  hand.  Mr.  Spurgeon,  suffering  from 
feeble  health,  still  expressed  his  strong  faith  in  God  that  the 
money  would  come  to  hand  in  due  time.  Just  as  the  dinner  was 
ended  the  servant  entered  the  room  with  a  telegram  from  his 
private  secretary,  announcing  that  an  unknown  donor  had  sent 
five  thousand  dollars  for  the  Orphanage.  Dr.  Brock  immediately 
rose  and  poured  forth  his  utterances  of  gratitude  in  the  most 
joyful  manner,  and  they  all  united  in  prayer  on  their  knees  to 
magnify  the  Lord. 

About  the  same  time  certain  newspapers  published  reports  that 
some  sixty  Methodist  students  were  yearly  received  into  the  classes 
of  the  Pastors'  College.     This  is  noticed  to  give  an  opportunity 


DEVISING   LIBERAL   THINGS.  II  5 

for  Mr.  Spurgeon's  reply,  which  was  in  these  words :  "  We  have 
never  said  anything  of  the  kind,  nor  is  it  true.  We  shall  not  regret 
if  it  turns  out  to  be  a  prophecy.  If  Methodists  improve  into 
Baptists,  we  shall  not  lament  it;  but  we  do  not  expect  it.  The 
Church  of  England  has  been  flirting  with  the  Wesleyans,  but  we 
have  done  nothing  of  the  kind ;  we  have  been  too  busy  seeking 
the  conversion  of  the  ungodly  to  have  had  any  time  to  bait  traps 
for  members  of  any  other  denominations."  This  reply  may  be 
taken  as  a  general  answer  to  other  false  reports  which  sensational 
editors  are  too  fond  of  printing  in  their  papers. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  church  members  it  was  reported  that 
510  had  been  added  to  the  church  during  the  year  1875,  that  208 
had  removed,  leaving  the  total  of  church  members  at  4,813,  being 
an  increase  of  136  on  the  year. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Colportage  Association  reported  that 
forty-seven  men  were  employed  in  forty-three  districts,  and  that 
$22,075  had  been  received  for  books  supplied  by  that  agency. 

The  weekly  offerings  at  the  Tabernacle  for  1875,  on  behalf  of 
the  Pastors'  College,  were  reported  to  be  $9,375. 

On  March  ist  a  very  lively,  loving,  and  enthusiastic  meeting  of 
the  collectors  was  held  at  the  Orphanage,  when  one  thousand 
dollars  was  paid  in,  and  the  orphans  sang  like  cherubs,  and 
looked  as  bright  and  cheerful  as  the  morning.  The  meeting  was 
interesting  in  other  respects,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following 
extract:  "The  Rev.  John  Spurgeon,  Charles  H.  Spurgeon,  and 
Thomas  Spurgeon  —  grandfather,  father,  and  son  —  addressed 
the  meeting.  The  grandsire  spoke  of  twenty  years  ago,  when 
C,  H.  Spurgeon  preached  at  his  grandfather's  —  James  Spurgeon's 
jubilee,  and  three  generations  of  their  family  were  present  on  that 
occasion.  He  blessed  God  that  as  the  older  generations  had  gone 
new  ones  had  arisen.  We  all  joined  in  his  gratitude,  and  the 
more  so  when  the  grandson  proved  by  his  cool,  clear  delivery,  and 
lively,  warm-hearted  manner,  that  he  would  worthily  sustain  the 
family  name." 

There  was  a  still  more  interesting  gathering  at  the  Orphanage, 
on  June  20th,  when  a  fete  was  held  to  commemorate  the  anniver- 
sary of   the  pastor's   birthday.     The  crowds  which  attended  were 


Il6  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

beyond  all  precedent,  and  at  the  evening  meeting,  presided  over 
by  Sir  Henry  Havelock,  five  Spurgeons  delivered  addresses, 
namely,  the  Rev.  John  Spurgeon,  the  grandfather ;  his  two  sons, 
Charles  and  James  Spurgeon ;  and  Thomas  and  Charles,  the  twin 
sons  of  Pastor  C.  H.  Spurgeon.  Seldom  does  a  man  find  himself 
followed  in  the  ministry  by  two  sons  and  two  grandsons,  all  living 
to  speak  at  the  same  meeting.  About  one  thousand  dollars  was 
contributed  that  day  to  the  funds  of  the  Orphanage,  one  friend 
having  sent  ^42  (two  hundred  and  ten  dollars),  so  as  to  give  a 
golden  token  of  his  esteem  for  every  year  of  the  pastor's  life. 
The  pastor  recorded  afterwards  that  his  right  arm  and  hand 
would  long  remember  the  thousands  of  hearty  salutations  he 
had  received  that  day. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  some  twenty-five  years  before,  an  ap- 
pointment was  made  with  Dr.  Angus,  of  London,  to  meet  a  young 
man  at  Cambridge,  with  the  intention  of  arranging  for  the  young 
man  to  become  a  student  of  the  Baptist  College  in  London.  By 
a  very  remarkable  omission  of  duty,  the  college  tutor  and  the 
young  man  did  not  meet  on  that  day,  and  the  young  man  did  not 
enter  a  college.  Now  that  young  man  has  a  college  of  his  own, 
in  which  some  of  the  most  able  and  useful  ministers  in  England 
have  been  trained,  and  about  forty  new  Baptist  churches  have 
been  raised  in  London  and  its  suburbs  solely  by  the  students  sent 
forth  from  the  Pastors'  College.  On  March  17,  1876,  Dr.  Angus, 
who  still  presides  over  the  Regent's  Park  Baptist  College,  went 
over  with  his  students  to  pay  a  fraternal  visit  to  the  Pastors'  Col- 
lege, and  a  very  pleasant  day  was  thus  spent  together.  Both 
students  and  tutors  were  hearty  in  their  greetings.  The  Taber- 
nacle men  escorted  their  guests  over  the  College  and  rooms  at  the 
Tabernacle,  and  many  new  acquaintances  were  made,  which  will 
surely  ripen  into  enduring  friendship  when  they  meet  one  another 
on  the  field  of  service.  The  addresses  delivered  on  the  occasion 
were  hearty,  solid,  and  well  received,  and  the  social  and  Christian 
intercourse  thus  opened  will  be  a  blessing  to  both  colleges. 

Another  form  of  helpful  service  at  the  Tabernacle  is  an  annual 
gathering  of  the  parents  of  the  children  in  the  Sunday-schools. 
These  schools  are  conducted  with  so  much  energy,  wisdom,  and 


DEVISING    LIBERAL    THINGS.  11/ 

efficiency,  that  they  have  no  need  to  resort  to  treats  and  prizes  to 
induce  the  children  to  come.  They  attend  in  multitudes;  and  the 
money  usually  spent  in  treats  and  prizes  is  devoted  to  give  the 
parents  of  the  children  a  free  tea,  which  brings  them  into  personal 
contact  with  Mr.  Spurgeon  and  the  teachers,  and  so  a  mutual  sym- 
pathy and  affection  is  awakened  and  sustained,  and  the  parents 
help  the  teachers  in  their  work. 

The  Twelfth  Annual  Conference  of  the  Pastors'  College  was  held 
during  the  week  commencing  on  Monday,  April  3d.  It  was  a  time 
of  blessing  and  encouragement  to  all  who  took  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings. The  inaugural  address  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  based  upon 
the  clause  in  the  creed,  "  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  was  able, 
lucid,  and  instructix^e.  During  the  conference,  Mr.  Phillips  gave 
his  annual  supper,  at  which  the  spontaneous  gifts  to  the  College 
reached  ten  thousand  dollars.  In  writing  brief  notes  of  that  con- 
ference Mr.  Spurgeon  adds:  "  Our  brain  refuses  to  dictate  more. 
If  our  friends  would  earnestly  ask  for  us  more  health  and  more 
grace  we  should  be  deeply  grateful." 

Deeply  did  Mr.  Spurgeon  feel  the  need  of  prayer  at  that  time; 
for  the  illness  which  he  felt  coming  on  lasted  for  three  months, 
and  was  to  him  and  to  his  church  a  heavy  loss  and  severe  trial. 
The  patient  pastor  poured  forth  his  complaint  in  the  first  article 
in  his  magazine  for  May,  under  the  title,  "  Laid  Aside.  Why?  " 
In  this  touching  fragment  from  his  pen  he  remarks :  "  When  the 
Lord  is  using  a  man  for  His  glory  it  is  singular  that  He  should  all 
of  a  sudden  smite  him  down  and  suspend  his  usefulness.  It  must 
be  right,  but  the  reason  for  it  does  not  lie  near  the  surface.  How 
is  it  that  a  heart  eager  for  the  welfare  of  men  and  the  criory  of  God 
should  find  itself  hampered  by  a  sickly  frame,  and  checked  in  its 
utmost  usefulness  by  attacks  of  painful  disease?  We  may  ask  the 
question,  if  we  do  so  without  murm.uring;  but  who  shall  answer 
it  for  us?  We  are  content  to  leave  a  thousand  mysteries  unsolved 
rather  than  tolerate  a  single  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  and  goodness 
of  our  Heavenly  Father." 

On  Lord's-day  evening,  July  i6th,  the  great  Tabernacle  was  de- 
serted by  its  regular  attendants,  by  the  special  desire  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon, who  wished   to  throw  open  the  place  for  a  free  service  to 


Il8  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

strangers.  None  of  the  seat-holders  were  present,  —  or  not  more 
than  half  a  dozen,  —  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  considered  "splendid 
discipline,  worthy  of  the  best-trained  army,  —  the  discipline  of 
love  " :  and  he  very  sincerely  thanked  the  seat-holders  for  vacat- 
ing their  places  so  unanimously  that  the  poor  might  hear  the  gos- 
pel preached  to  them  in  comfort,  without  even  a  collection.  "The 
Tabernacle  was  as  full  as  a  barrel  packed  with  herrings,"  and  the 
heat  was  intense.  Much  prayer  was  offered  at  various  meetings ; 
and  the  officers  had  a  baptism  of  fire  from  heaven  in  offering 
prayer  before  the  doors  were  opened.  They  also  held  three 
prayer-meetings  and  an  out-door  service  to  the  crowds  who  could 
not  get  within  the  building.  Much  good  was  clone,  many  sin- 
ners were  awakened,  and  additions  to  the  church  followed.  The 
experiment  was  repeated  on  Sunday,  October  22d,  three  months 
afterwards ;  and  this  has  now  become  an  established  service 
periodically.  The  object  of  these  evangelistic  services  is  to  lay 
hold  of  those  who  inhabit  a  world  outside  the  Church,  ignoring 
the  existence  of  church  or  chapel,  or  even  of  religion  itself.  Of 
these  there  are  multitudes  amongst  both  rich  and  poor.  After 
each  service  a  number  of  inquirers  come  forward,  desiring  further 
instruction    in  matters  concerning  salvation. 

The  weekly  baptismal  service  at  the  Tabernacle  on  Monday, 
June  26,  1876,  was  one  which  awakened  deep  feelings  of  gratitude 
in  the  breast  of  the  pastor.  Amongst  those  who  were  baptized 
were  three  friends  who  were  led  to  confess  the  Saviour  through 
the  preaching  of  the  pastor's  two  sons,  Charles  and  Thomas  Spur- 
geon, the  first-fruits  of  their  useful  ministry.  Who  could  refuse  to 
pray,  "  God  bless  the  lads  "? 

During  half  of  the  month  of  August  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  rambling 
in  Scotland  amongst  "  Highland  cattle,  sea-gulls,  herrings,  and 
heather."  He  went  north  in  search  of  rest,  was  away  thirteen 
days,  and  had  fifty  invitations  to  preach.  He  yielded  four  times 
to  the  entreaty  of  friends.  On  Sabbath,  August  13th,  he  preached 
at  Blairmore  to  an  immense  out-door  compan}',  gathered  from  all 
the  surrounding  towns.  The  two  services  there  were  happy  occa- 
sions, and  much  Christian  fellowship  was  shown  by  the  Scotch 
brethren  to  the  Metropolitan  pastor. 


DEVISING    LIBERAL   THINGS.  II9 

Seeking  by  all  possible  means  to  rescue  the  perishing,  a  series 
of  special  revival  services  were  commenced  in  the  Tabernacle  on 
Monday,  October  30th,  conducted  by  the  College  students,  hoping 
thereby  to  benefit  the  church,  which  so  greatly  promotes  the  use- 
fulness of  the  College  by  its  weekly  offerings.  The  services  were 
only  intended  for  one  week,  but  the  meetings  were  seasons  of 
so  much  blessing  that  they  were  continued  to  November  loth. 
Various  means  were  used  for  gathering  in  the  people  to  hear  the 
Word,  and  occasionally  a  band  of  students  resorted  to  the  "  high- 
ways," and  by  singing  and  preaching  compelled  them  to  come  in. 
Deep  earnestness  characterized  both  speakers  and  hearers,  and  on 
every  evening  the  young  brethren  had  to  rejoice  over  some  sinners 
brought  to  repentance.  On  Thursday  afternoon,  November  2d,  the 
students  held  a  fellowship  meeting  to  seek  a  blessing  on  them- 
selves and  their  work.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  to 
them.  The  Master  was  manifestly  present,  and  all  were  blessed 
by  the  service.  There  were  one  hundred  and  ten  students  in  the 
College  when  they  re-assembled  in  the  autumn. 

On  Tuesday,  December  12th,  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  at  Nottingham, 
and  preached  two  of  the  opening  sermons  in  Mr.  Silverton's  new 
chapel,  which  he  has  appropriately  named  Exeter  Hall.  It  is  a 
building  of  great  capacity,  substantial  and  elegant.  It  seats  two 
thousand  people,  yet  cost  only  $23,500,  apart  from  the  site.  Mr. 
Spurgeon  said  of  the  services  of  that  day :  "  The  giving  and  the 
hearing  were  of  the  most  enthusiastic  order,  the  amount  contrib- 
uted being  one  thousand  dollars." 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1876  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  assailed  by 
some  newspapers  in  an  almost  savage  manner  for  a  prayer  which 
he  offered  one  Sunday  morning,  that  the  Lord  would  preserve 
peace,  and  if  our  rulers  would  not  learn  wisdom,  to  remove  them. 
He  did  not  trouble  much  about  the  abuse  of  the  press,  knowing 
that  it  is  only  when  he  exposes  evil  and  injustice  that  a  clamor  is 
raised.  Their  fierce  language  w^as  unheeded,  for  he  received  a 
letter  from  Austria,  informing  him  that  the  words  of  his  prayer 
had  been  translated  into  German  and  Servian,  and  had  been 
printed  in  most  of  the  newspapers  in  those  languages,  the  read- 
ers there  rejoicing  to  think  that  there  was  one  man  in  England 
• 


I20  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

who  seemed  to  comprehend  the  atrocities  suffered  by  the  victims 
of  Turkish  barbarism. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  College  evening  classes  was  held  at 
the  Tabernacle  on  December  22d.  By  means  of  these  classes  two 
hundred  men  who  are  working  all  day  receive  such  educational 
advantages  as  they  require ;  thus  they  do  not  forget  the  Lord's 
work. 

During  the  year,  no  less  than  thirty-three  students  had  been 
appointed  to  churches,  four  of  whom  have  gone  into  the  work 
abroad,  —  namely,  one  to  Australia,  one  to  New  Zealand,  one  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  one  to  Basle,  Switzerland.  Very 
gratifying  reports  have  already  been  received  from  many  of  those 
new  curates  of  church  work.  It  is  deserving  of  record  that  no 
less  than  sixty  Baptist  churches  in  and  around  London  have  been, 
or  now  are,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  students  from  the  Pastors' 
College.  More  than  half  the  number  are  entirely  new  churches, 
raised  out  of  the  world,  and  amongst  them  are  some  of  the  largest 
and  most  prosperous  churches  in  the  denomination.  About 
twenty  students  were  sent  out  during  the  first  half  of  the  year 
1877. 

Several  times  during  the  spring  of  the  year  1877  large  audiences 
of  merchants  and  business  men  assembled  in  the  great  hall  at 
the  Cannon-street  Hotel,  and  at  the  Friends'  Meeting-house  in 
Bishopsgate  Street,  to  hear  addresses  from  Mr.  Spurgeon  on  ques- 
tions of  commercial  morality  and  personal  salvation.  About  two 
thousand  persons  gathered  at  midday  on  each  occasion  to  hear 
the  words  of  faithful  warning  and  affectionate  invitation.  The 
addresses  which  were  delivered  have  been  published  at  one  penny 
each,  with  the  titles  "  The  Claims  of  God  "  and  "  Faith  in  Christ." 

For  more  than  eighty  years  the  annual  sermon  before  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society  was  preached  in  Rowland  Hill's  chapel. 
The  last  of  the  series  in  the  old  sanctuary  was  preached  in 
May,  1876.  Thereafter  the  official  sermon  was  expected  to  be 
preached  in  Christ  Church,  Westminster  Road,  and  Mr.  Spurgeon 
was  selected  as  the  preacher  of  the  first  sermon  of  the  new  series. 
In   the   course   of  the   sermon   he   said   some   plain   things  about 

preachers  who  discoursed  on  subjects  which  were  not  the  gospel 

• 


DEVISING    LIBERAL   THINGS.  121 

of  salvation,  and  sometimes  were  even  opposed  to  it.  A  spirit 
of  controversy  followed,  as  is  usual,  but  Mr.  Spurgeon  wisely  left 
his  critics  to  entertain  their  own  opinions,  unquestioned  by  him- 
self 

No  minister  knows  better  than  Mr.  Spurgeon  the  advantages  to 
a  Christian  church  of  having  work  for  every  member,  and  seeing 
that  the  work  is  done.  It  was  no  surprise  to  many  of  the  friends 
at  the  Tabernacle  when,  in  the  spring  of  1877,  ^  special  mission 
was  inaugurated  for  those  young  ladies  who  have  leisure,  cul- 
ture, and  refined  taste ;  hence  a  flower  mission  was  commenced. 
Friends  in  the  country  send  boxes  of  cut  flowers  every  Wednesday 
to  the  Tabernacle,  when  young  ladies  arrange  them,  and  append 
to  them  appropriate  texts  from  the  Bible,  and  these  are  immedi- 
ately distributed,  free,  to  the  hospitals  in  London,  where  they  are 
welcomed  with  the  utmost  delight  by  the  poor  afflicted  inmates, 
and  many  a  blessing  is  invoked  on  the  committee  who  distribute 
them  as  well  as  on  those  who  donate  the  flowers. 

The  inventive  spirit  has  long  been  in  active  exercise  at  the 
Tabernacle ;  hence  the  variety  of  agencies  which  exist  in  that 
church,  which  are,  many  of  them,  unknown  in  most  other  church 
organizations.  There  is  a  Baptist  Country  Mission  which  pro- 
vides, under  Mr.  Spurgeon's  direction,  young  brethren  who  visit 
villages  and  country  towns  near  London,  who  labor  to  raise  new 
churches  in  them.  These  earnest  young  men  are  always  ready 
to  enter  on  any  opening  by  preaching  on  the  village  green,  or  in 
a  cottage  or  room.  There  is  also  the  Tabernacle  Evangelists' 
Society,  which  finds  speakers  for  special  services  in  London,  and 
works  in  connection  with  the  churches.  These  do  not  restrict 
themselves  to  any  denomination,  but  cheerfully  aid  all  pastors  who 
are  willing  to  accept  their  help  for  a  short  period,  or  a  series  of 
meetings.  They  carry  on  open-air  preaching  and  lodging-house 
visitation.     These  are  branches  of  home-missionary  work. 

Our  social  festivals  are  always  occasions  of  joy,  but  how  gener- 
ally do  they  partake  largely  of  selfishness !  Mr.  Spurgeon  has 
discovered  the  way  to  combine  the  highest  amount  of  personal 
happiness  with  the  most  extensive  benevolence  and  philanthropy. 
Who  but  a  man  with  a  large  heart  and  unbounded  sympathy  could 


122  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEOX. 

have  conceived  the  plan,  and  so  successfully  have  carried  it  out,  of 
--elebrating  the  anniversary  of  his  birth  by  devoting  all  the  gifts 
which  loving  friends  bestowed,  to  feed  the  orphan  and  relieve 
distress? 

Still  suffering  from  the  weakness  which  follows  long-contin- 
ued pain,  yet  no  one  was  more  happy  than  Pastor  Spurgeon  on 
June  19,  1877,  when  he  kept  his  forty-third  birthday.  Some 
thousands  of  attached  personal  friends,  and  friends  of  the  orphan, 
gathered  that  day  at  Stockwell  Orphanage.  The  day  was  fine ; 
the  gentle  zephyrs  wafted  pleasantly  over  the  enclosed  grounds, 
joy  sat  on  every  countenance,  and  a  spirit  of  generosity  seemed 
to  animate  every  breast.  The  orphans  and  their  guardians  met 
likewise  to  unite  their  loving  congratulations  to  the  President  of 
the  Institution:  this  feeling  of  sympathy  and  kindliness  being 
freely  manifested  by  hosts  of  Tabernacle  worshippers,  and  by 
kind  friends  from  the  locality.  In  the  afternoon  the  pastor 
preached  a  short  sermon  in  the  covered  playground  from  Gen. 
XXX.  27,  in  wdiich  he  testified  that  "  I  have  learned  by  experience 
that  the  Lord  hath  blessed  me  for  thy  sake,"  and  he  acknowledged 
having  received  countless  blessings  through  his  faithful  people. 

An  open-air  meeting  was  held  in  the  evening  on  the  grass, 
presided  over  by  Thomas  Blake,  Esq.,  M.P.,  w^io  was  ably  sup- 
ported by  the  Rev.  M'Connell  Hussey,  a  neighboring  clergyman, 
and  other  friends.  In  the  calm  air  Mr.  Spurgeon  sat  on  the 
platform  without  his  hat,  when  his  son  Charles  was  called  on  to 
speak.  He  referred  to  his  father's  sufferings  from  the  gout,  and 
added,  "  There  he  sits  without  his  hat,  but  he  has  a  will  of  his 
own."  Immediately  the  hat  went  on;  so  his  own  will  at  once 
became  the  will  of  the  multitude,  all  of  whom  were  his  well- 
wishers.  The  pastor  himself  announced  that  he  had  that  morning 
received  seventy-one  letters  of  congratulation,  all  containing  help 
for  the  orphans,  besides  which  one  friend  had  sent  him  ^,43  (two 
hundred  and  fifteen  dollars),  to  tally  with  the  number  of  his  years, 
and  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  institution  had  sent  a  similar 
amount.  Mr.  Spurgeon  commended  very  highly  the  management 
of  his  brother  and  Mr.  Charlesworth  in  superintending  the  Orphan- 
age,  and  of  the  working   staff  he   said  he   could   not  wish   them 


DEVISING   LIBERAL   THINGS.  I23 

to  be  better,  as  they  would  then  be  too  good  for  work  on  earth, 
and  he  assured  the  meeting  that  the  business  of  the  Orphanage 
was  so  well  conducted  that  it  gave  the  President  only  the  mini- 
mum of  care ;  and  he  sincerely  thanked  the  numerous  donors 
who  during  the  day  brought  in  to  the  treasurer  nearly  two  thou- 
sand dollars. 

The  month  of  January,  1879,  will  long  be  remembered.  Having 
completed  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  pastorate,  it  was  decided 
to  celebrate  the  occasion,  which  was  termed  THE  PASTORAL  SIL- 
VER Wedding,  by  presenting  Mr.  Spurgeon  with  a  liberal  testi- 
monial. The  amount  proposed  to  be  raised  was  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars.  A  large  bazaar  was  opened,  which  was  well 
supported,  and  with  the  subscription  lists  the  proceeds  exceeded 
the  amount  originally  proposed. 

With  his  usual  large-heartedness  he  declined  accepting  the 
amount  for  his  private  benefit.  There  was  one  important  insti- 
tution connected  with  the  Tabernacle  that  needed  to  be  placed 
on  a  surer  footing,  and  this  was  a  fitting  opportunity  for  securing 
that  end.  The  Almshouses,  affording  homes  for  nineteen  poor 
widows,  required  a  more  permanent  support,  and  all  the  proceeds 
of  the  "  Pastoral  Silver  Wedding  Fund "  were  devoted  to  this 
laudable  object,  thereby  insuring  its  future  maintenance. 

May  the  perusal  of  the  brief  personal  history  of  this  earnest, 
unselfish,  laborious  man  stir  many  to  inquire,  "  Lord,  what  wilt 
Thou  have  ME  to  do?  " 


i24  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PSALM  XLIV. 

Our  ears  have  heard,  O  glorious  God, 

What  work  Thou  didst  of  old; 
And  how  the  heathen  felt  Thy  rod 
Our  fathers  oft  have  told. 

'T  was  not  Thy  people's  arm  or  sword, 

But  only  Thy  right  hand 
Which  scattered  all  the  race  abhorred, 

And  gave  Thy  tril:)es  their  land. 

Thou  hadst  a  favor  to  the  seed 

Which  sprang  of  Jacob's  line  ; 
And  still  on  men  afore  decreed 

Doth  love  electing  shine. 

These  shall  the  heritage  obtain, 

And  drive  out  every  sin  ; 
E'en  death  and  hell  shall  rage  in  vain,  — 

They  must  the  conquest  win. 

From  grace  alone  their  strength  shall  spring, 

Nor  bow  nor  sword  can  save  ; 
To  God  alone,  their  Lord  and  King, 

Shall  all  their  banners  wave. 

Awake,  O  Lord,  of  Thine  elect, 

Achieve  Thy  great  design  ; 
Thy  saints  from  Thee  alone  expect 

Salvation's  light  to  shine. 

In  Thee  alone  we  make  our  boasts, 

And  glory  all  day  long  ; 
Arise  at  once,  thou  Lord  of  hosts. 

And  fill  our  mouth  with  song. 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


XI. 
THE  METROPOLITAN  TABERNACLE. 


Living  in  the  midst  of  the  church  of  God  is  like  sailing  down  the  Nile  in  a 
boat.  One  is  charmed  with  the  luxuriance  of  either  bank,  and  with  much  that 
is  beautiful  immediately  around;  but,  alas!  at  a  little  distance  on  either  side 
lies  a  vast  uncultivated,  we  had  almost  said  hopeless,  desert.  Some  are  at  rest 
because  they  never  look  beyond  the  borders  of  the  church ;  but  those  whose 
sympathies  reach  to  all  humanity  will  have  to  carry  a  life-long  "burden  of  the 
Lord." — C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THE    METROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE. 


THE  history  of  the  church  of  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  overseer 
contains  a  record  of  information  and  interest  peculiar  to 
itself.  For  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  it  has  stood  the  test, 
and  some  of  the  best  leaders  and  teachers  of  Christendom  have 
ministered  the  Word  of  life  to  its  members.  For  many  years  a 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  its  present  pastor  to  furnish 
to  the  public  every  possible  information  regarding  its  origin, 
growth,  and  work.  Notwithstanding  his  arduous  labors,  he  has 
responded  to  this  legitimate  inquiry,  and  in  a  book  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  pages  has  sketched  the  early  history  of  the 
Baptists,  the  founding  of  the  church,  the  successive  pastors,  and  its 
present  participation  in  the  various  branches  of  education,  charity, 
evangelization,  and  missionary  operations  with  which  it  stands 
connected.  Thus  Mr.  Spurgeon  prefaces  his  history  of  the  Metro- 
politan Tabernacle :  — 

When  modest  ministers  submit  their  sermons  to  the  press  they 
usually  place  upon  the  titlepage  the  words,  "  Printed  by  request." 
We  might  with  emphatic  truthfulness  have  pleaded  this  apology 
for  the  present  narrative,  for,  timec  without  number,  friends  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  have  said :  "  Have  you  no  book  which  will 
tell  us  all  about  your  work?  Could  you  not  give  us  some  printed 
summary  of  the  Tabernacle  history?"  Here  it  is,  dear  friends, 
and  we  hope  it  will  satisfy  your  curiosity  and  deepen  your  kindly 
interest. 


128  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

The  best  excuse  for  writing  a  history  is  that  there  is  something 
to  tell,  and,  unless  we  are  greatly  mistaken,  the  facts  here  placed  on 
record  are  well  worthy  of  being  known.  In  us  they  have  aroused 
fervent  emotions  of  gratitude,  and  in  putting  them  together  our 
faith  in  God  has  been  greatly  established ;  we  hope,  therefore, 
that  in  some  measure  our  readers  will  derive  the  same  benefit. 
Strangers  cannot  be  expected  to  feel  an  equal  interest  with  our- 
selves, but  our  fellow  members,  our  co-workers,  our  hundreds  of 
generous  helpers,  and  the  large  circle  of  our  hearty  sympathizers 
cannot  read  our  summary  of  the  Lord's  dealings  with  us  without 
stimulus  and  encouragement. 

Our  young  people  ought  to  be  told  by  their  fathers  the  won- 
drous things  which  God  did  in  their  day  "  and  in  the  old  time 
before  them."  Such  things  are  forgotten  if  they  are  not  every 
now  and  then  rehearsed  anew  in  the  ears  of  fresh  generations. 
"  Why  should  the  wonders  He  hath  wrought  be  lost  in  silence 
and  forgot?"  We  feel  that  we  only  discharge  a  duty  to  the 
present  and  coming  generations  when  we  use  our  pen  for  such  a 
purpose. 

May  the  reader's  belief  in  prayer  be  increased,  and  his  reliance 
upon  God  strengthened,  as  he  reads  our  testimony;  and  should  he 
unhappily  be  as  yet  unconverted,  may  he  be  led  to  believe  in  God, 
to  rest  in  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  people 
of  God. 

Brethren  who  have  helped  us  so  long,  support  oui'  enterprises 
still  by  your  prayers,  your  efforts,  and  your  gifts,  and  so  shall  our 
Zion  become  increasingly  a  praise  in  the  earth.  To  the  Triune 
God  be  praise  that  for  two  centuries  His  mercy  has  surrounded 
this  portion  of  His  Church,  and  that  "  His  hand  is  stretched  out 
still." 

This  church  was  born  in  stormy  times,  when  mayors  and  mobs 
were  formidable  foes  of  all  who  believed  in  the  crown  rights  of 
King  Jesus.  The  practice  of  the  Baptists  in  dipping  was  spe- 
cially obnoxious  to  the  bigots  who  plied  hard  the  argument  that 
it  was  wicked  to  immerse  persons  in  cold  weather.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
goes  on  with  the  history,  which  we  abridge :  — 


THE  METROPOLITAN  TABERNACLE.  I29 

Moved  by  the  feeling  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  State  to  keep 
men's  consciences  in  proper  order,  the  Parhament  set  to  work  to 
curb  the  wicked  sectaries,  and  Dr.  Stoughton  tells  us :  "  By  the 
Parliamentary  ordinance  of  April,  1645,  forbidding  any  person  to 
preach  who  was  not  an  ordained  minister,  in  the  Presbyterian, 
or  some  other  reformed  church,  —  all  Baptist  ministers  became 
exposed  to  molestation,  they  being  accounted  a  sect,  and  not  a 
church.  A  few  months  after  the  date  of  this  law,  the  Baptists 
being  pledged  to  a  public  controversy  in  London  with  Edmund 
Calamy,  the  Lord  Mayor  interfered  to  prevent  the  disputation, — 
a  circumstance  which  seems  to  show  that,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
Baptists  were  becoming  a  formidable  body  in  London,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  their  fellow-citizens  were  highly  exasperated 
against  them."  Or,  say  rather,  that  the  Lord  Mayor's  views  not 
being  those  of  the  Baptists,  he  feared  the  sturdy  arguments  which 
would  be  brought  to  bear  upon  his  friends,  and  concluded  that  the 
wisest  course  he  could  take  was  to  prevent  the  truth  being  heard. 
No  Lord  Mayor,  or  even  King,  has  any  right  to  forbid  free  public 
speech,  and  when  in  past  ages  an  official  has  done  so,  it  is  no 
evidence  that  his  fellow-citizens  were  of  the  same  mind :  Jack-in- 
office  is  often  peculiarly  anxious  that  the  consciences  of  others 
should  not  be  injured  by  hearing  views  different  from  his  own. 

From  some  one  of  the  many  Baptist  assemblies  which  met  in  the 
borough  of  Southwark,  the  Tabernacle  Church  took  its  rise.  Cros- 
by says :  "  This  people  had  formerly  belonged  to  one  of  the  most 
ancient  congregations  of  the  Baptists  in  London,  but  separated 
from  them,  in  the  year  1652,  for  some  practices  which  they  judged 
disorderly,  and  kept  together  from  that  time  as  a  distinct  body." 
They  appear  to  have  met  in  private  houses,  or  in  such  other  build- 
ings as  were  open  to  them.  Their  first  pastor  was  William 
Rider,  whom  Crosby  mentions  as  a  sufferer  for  conscience'  sake, 
but  he  is  altogether  unable  to  give  any  further  particulars  of  his 
life,  except  that  he  published  a  small  tract  in  vindication  of  the 
practice  of  laying  on  of  hands  on  the  baptized  believers.  The 
people  were  few  in  number,  but  had  the  reputation  of  being  men 
of  solid  judgment,  deep  knowledge,  and  religious  stability,  and 
many   of  them  were   also    in   easy  circumstances    as   to  worldly 

9 


I30  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

goods.  Oliver  Cromwell  was  just  at  that  time  in  the  ascendant, 
and  Blake's  cannon  were  sweeping  the  Dutch  from  the  seas ;  but 
the  Presbyterian  establishment  ruled  with  a  heavy  hand,  and  Bap- 
tists were  under  a  cloud.  In  the  following  year  Cromwell  was 
made  Protector,  the  old  Parliament  was  sent  about  its  business, 
and  England  enjoyed  a  large  measure  of  liberty  of  conscience. 

How  long  William  Rider  exercised  the  ministerial  office  we  are 
unable  to  tell,  but  our  next  record  bears  date  1668,  when  we  are 
informed  that,  "  the  pastor  having  been  dead  for  some  time,  they 
unanimously  chose  Mr.  Benjamin  Keach  to  be  their  elder  or 
pastor."  Accordingly  he  was  solemnly  ordained  with  prayer  and 
the  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  year  1668,  being  in  the  twenty-eighth 
year  of  his  age.  Keach  was  one  of  the  most  notable  of  the  pas- 
tors of  our  church.  He  was  continually  engaged  in  preaching  in 
the  towns  of  Buckinghamshire,  making  Winslow  his  headquarters ; 
and  so  well  did  the  good  cause  flourish  under  his  zealous  labors, 
and  those  of  others,  that  the  Government  quartered  dragoons  in 
the  district  in  order  to  put  down  unlawful  meetings  and  stamp 
out  dissent.  The  amount  of  suffering  which  this  involved,  the 
readers  of  the  story  of  the  Covenanting  times  in  Scotland  can 
readily  imagine.  A  rough  soldiery  handle  with  little  tenderness 
those  whom  they  consider  to  be  miserable  fanatics.  When  the 
favorite  court  poet  was  lampooning  these  poor  people  and  ridi- 
culing their  claims  to  be  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  common 
soldiers  of  the  Cavalier  order  were  not  likely  to  be  much  under 
restraint  in  their  behavior  to  them. 

Having  written  a  book  called  "  The  Child's  Instructor,"  in  which 
he  avowed  that  children  are  born  in  sin,  and  in  need  of  redemp- 
tion by  Jesus  Christ,  he  was  publicly  tried  and  convicted.  The 
merciful  (?)  judge  pronounced  upon  the  culprit  the  follov/ing 
sentence :  — 

"  Benjamin  Keach,  you  are  here  convicted  for  writing,  printing, 
and  publishing  a  seditious  and  schismatical  book,  for  which  the 
court's  judgment  is  this,  and  the  court  doth  award:  That  you 
shall  go  to  jail  for  a  fortnight  without  bail  or  mainprize;  and 
the  next  Saturday  to  stand  upon  the  pillory  at  Aylesbury  in  the 
open  market,  from  eleven  o'clock  till  one,  with  a  paper  upon  your 


Benjamin  Keach. 


THE    METROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE. 


131 


head  with  this  inscription  :  For  writing,  printing,  and  publishing  a 
schismatical  book,  entitled  The  Child s  Instructor ;  or,  a  Neiv  and 
Easy  Primer.  And  the  next  Thursday  to  stand,  in  the  same 
manner  and  for  the  same  time,  in  the  market  at  Winslow;  and 
then  your  book  shall  be  openly  burnt  before  your  face  by  the 
common  hangman,  in  disgrace  of  you  and  your  doctrine.  And 
you  shall  forfeit  to  the  King's  majesty  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds, 
and  shall  remain  in  jail  until  you  find  sureties  for  your  good 
behavior,  and   for  your   appearance   at  the  next  assizes ;    then  to 


Benjamin  Keach  in  the  Pillory. 

renounce  your  doctrines,  and  make  such  public  submission  as  shall 
be  enjoined  you.     Take  him  away,  keeper !  " 

Keach  simply  replied,  "  I  hope  I  shall  never  renounce  the  truths 
which  I  have  written  in  that  book." 

The  attempts  made  to  obtain  a  pardon  or  a  relaxation  of  this 
severe  sentence  were  ineffectual ;  and  the  sheriff  took  care  that 
everything  should  be  punctually  performed. 

When  he  was  brought  to  the  pillory  at  Aylesbury,  several  of 
his  religious  friends  and  acquaintances  accompanied  him ;  and 
when  they  bemoaned  his  hard  case  and  the  injustice  of  his  suf- 


132  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

ferings,  he  said  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  "  The  cross  is  the 
way  to  the  crown."  His  head  and  hands  were  no  sooner  placed 
in  the  pillory,  but  he  began  to  address  himself  to  the  spectators, 
to  this  effect:  "Good  people,  I  am  not  ashamed  to  stand  here 
this  day,  with  this  paper  on  my  head  !  My  Lord  Jesus  was  not 
ashamed  to  suffer  on  the  cross  for  me ;  and  it  is  for  His  cause 
that  I  am  made  a  gazing-stock.  Take  notice,  it  is  not  for  any 
wickedness  that  I  stand  here ;  but  for  writing  and  publishing 
those  truths  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hath  revealed  in  the 
Holy   Scriptures." 

Very  sweetly  did  Mr.  Keach  preach  the  great  fundamental  truths 
of  the  gospel,  and  glorify  the  name  and  work  of  Jesus.  His  "  Gos- 
pel Mine  Opened,"  and  other  works  rich  in  savor,  show  that  he 
was  no  mere  stickler  for  a  point  of  ceremony,  but  one  who  loved 
the  whole  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  felt  its  power.  The  doctrine 
of  the  Second  Advent  evidently  had  great  charms  for  him,  but 
not  so  as  to  crowd  out  Christ  crucified.  He  was  very  solid  in  his 
preaching,  and  his  whole  conduct  and  behavior  betokened  a  man 
deeply  in  earnest  for  the  cause  of  God.  In  addressing  the  un- 
godly he  was  intensely  direct,  solemn,  and  impressive,  not  flinch- 
ing to  declare  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  nor  veiling  the  freeness  of 
divine  grace.  He  was  a  voluminous  writer,  having  written  in  all 
forty-three  works,  —  eighteen  practical,  sixteen  polemical,  and  nine 
poetical.  Some  of  them  were  very  popular,  having  reached  the 
twenty-second  edition. 

Mr.  Keach  was  of  a  very  weak  constitution,  being  often  afflicted 
with  illness,  and  once  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was  given  over  by 
the  physicians ;  and  several  of  the  ministers,  and  his  relations,  had 
taken  their  leave  of  him  as  a  dying  man  and  past  all  hope  of  recov- 
ery ;  but  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hanserd  Knollys,  seeing  his  friend  and 
brother  in  the  gospel  so  near  expiring,  betook  himself  to  prayer, 
and  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner  begged  that  God  would  spare 
him,  and  add  unto  his  days  the  time  He  granted  to  His  servant 
Hezekiah.  As  soon  as  he  had  ended  his  prayer,  he  said,  "  Brother 
Keach,  I  shall  be  in  heaven  before  you,"  and  quickly  after  left  him. 
So  remarkable  was  the  answer  of  God  to  this  good  man's  prayer, 
that  we  cannot  omit  it ;  though  it  may  be  discredited  by  some,  there 


THE   METROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE.  1 35 

were  many  who  could  bear  incontestable  testimony  to  the  fact. 
Mr.  Keach  recovered  of  that  illness,  and  lived  just  fifteen  years 
afterwards ;  and  then  it  pleased  God  to  visit  him  with  that  short 
sickness  which  put  an  end  to  his  days.  He  "fell  on  sleep"  July  16, 
1704,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  at  the 
Baptists'  burying-ground,  in  the  Park,  Southwark.  It  was  not  a 
little  singular  that  in  after  years  the  church  over  which  he  so  ably 
presided  should  pitch  its  tent  so  near  the  place  where  his  bones 
were  laid,  and  New  Park  Street  should  appear  in  her  annals  as  a 
well-beloved  name. 

When  Mr.  Keach  was  upon  his  death-bed  he  sent  for  his  son- 
in-law^,  Benjamin  Stinton,  and  solemnly  charged  him  to  care  for 
the  church  which  he  was  about  to  leave,  and  especially  urged  him 
to  accept  the  pastoral  office,  should  it  be  offered  to  him  by  the 
brethren.  Mr.  Stinton  had  already  for  some  years  helped  his 
father-in-law  in  many  ways,  and  therefore  he  was  no  new  and 
untried  man.  It  is  no  small  blessing  when  a  church  can  find  her 
pastors  in  her  own  midst;  the  rule  is  to  look  abroad,  but  perhaps 
if  our  home  gifts  were  more  encouraged  the  Holy  Spirit  would 
cause  our  teachers  to  come  forth  more  frequently  from  among  our 
own  brethren.  Still,  we  cannot  forget  the  proverb  about  a  prophet 
in  his  own  country.  When  the  church  gave  Mr.  Stinton  a  pressing 
invitation,  he  delayed  awhile,  and  gave  himself  space  for  serious 
consideration ;  but  at  length,  remembering  the  dying  words  of  his 
father-in-law,  and  feeling  himself  directed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  he 
gave  himself  up  to  the  ministry,  which  he  faithfully  discharged  for 
fourteen  years,  —  namely,  from  1704  to  171 8. 

Spending  himself  in  various  works  of  usefulness,  Mr.  Stinton 
worked  on  till  the  nth  of  February,  1718,  when  a  sudden  close 
was  put  to  his  labors  and  his  life.  He  was  taken  suddenly  ill,  and 
saying  to  his  wife,  "  I  am  going,"  he  laid  himself  down  upon  the 
bed,  and  expired  in  the  forty-third  year  of  his  life.  He  smiled 
on  death,  for  the  Lord  smiled  on  him.  He  was  buried  near  his 
predecessor,  in  the  Park,  Southwark. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  17 19,  the  church  at  Horsleydown 
invited  JOHN  GiLL  to  preach,  with  a  view  to  the  pastorate;  but 
there  was   a  determined  opposition  to  him   in  about  one  half  of 


134 


LIKE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 


the  church.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  club  of  ministers 
meeting  at  the  Hanover  Coffee-house,  and  they  gave  the  absurd 
advice  that  the  two  parties  should  each  hear  their  own  man  turn 
about  till  they  could  agree.  Common  sense  came  to  the  rescue, 
and  this  sort  of  religious  duel  never  came  off.  The  friends,  with 
far  greater  wisdom,  divided.  John  Gill's  friends  secured  the  old 
meeting-house  for  the  term  of  forty  years,  and  he  was  ordained 
March  22,  1720. 


CARTER-LANE  CHAPEL. 

Little  did  the  friends  dream  what  sort  of  man  they  had  thus 
chosen  to  be  their  teacher ;  but  had  they  known  it  they  w^ould 
have  rejoiced  that  a  man  of  such  vast  erudition,  such  indefatigable 
industry,  such  sound  judgment,  and  such  sterling  honesty  had 
come  among  them.  He  was  to  be  more  mighty  with  his  pen  than 
Keach,  and  to  make  a  deeper  impression  upon  his  age,  though 
perhaps  with  the  tongue  he  was  less  powerful  than  his  eminent 
predecessor.  Early  in  his  ministry  he  had  to  take  up  the  cudgels 
for  Baptist  views  against  a  Paedobaptist  preacher  of  Rowel,  near 
Kettering,  and  he  did  so  in  a  manner  worthy  of  that  eulogium 
which  Toplady  passed  upon  him  in  reference  to  other  controver- 
sies, when  he  compared  him  to  Marlborough,  and  declared  that 
he  never  fought  a  battle  without  winning  it. 


THE   METROPOLITAN    TABERNACLE.  1 35 

Mr.  Gill,  being  settled  in  London,  became  more  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  that  worthy  minister  of  the  gospel,  Mr.  John  Skepp, 
pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Cripplegate.  This  gentleman, 
though  he  had  not  a  liberal  education,  yet,  after  he  came  into  the 
ministry,  through  great  diligence  acquired  a  large  acquaintance 
with  the  Hebrew  tongue.  As  Mr.  Gill  had  previously  taken  great 
delight  in  the  Hebrew,  his  conversation  with  this  worthy  minister 
rekindled  a  flame  of  fervent  desire  to  obtain  a  more  extensive 
knowledge  of  it,  and  especially  of  Rabbinical  learning.  Mr.  Skepp 
dying  a  year  or  two  after,  Mr.  Gill  purchased  most  of  his  Hebrew 
works,  the  Baptist  Fund  making  him  a  grant  of  eighty-seven  dollars 
for  this  purpose.  Having  obtained  the  books,  he  went  to  work  with 
great  eagerness,  reading  the  Targums  and  ancient  commentaries, 
and  in  a  course  of  between  twenty  and  thirty  years'  acquaintance 
with  these  writings  he  collected  a  large  number  of  learned  observa- 
tions. Having  also,  in  this  time,  gone  through  certain  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  almost  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  by  way 
of  exposition,  in  the  course  of  his  ministry,  he  put  all  the  expos- 
itory,  critical,  and  illustrative  parts  together,  and  in  the  year  1745 
issued  proposals  for  publishing  his  "  Exposition  of  the  whole  New 
Testament,"  in  three  volumes  folio.  The  work  meeting  due  en- 
couragement, it  was  put  to  press  the  same  year,  and  was  finished, 
the  first  volume  in  1746,  the  second  in  1747,  and  the  third  in  1748. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  publication  of  this  work,  in  1748,  Mr. 
Gill  received  a  diploma  from  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen,  creat- 
ing him  Doctor  in  Divinity  on  account  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures,  of  the  Oriental  languages,  and  of  Jewish  antiquities. 
When  his  deacons  in  London  congratulated  him  on  the  respect 
which  had  been  shown  him  he  thanked  them,  pleasantly  adding, 
"  I  neither  thought  it,  nor  bought  it,  nor  sought  it." 

The  ministry  of  Mr.  Gill  being  acceptable  not  only  to  his  own 
people  but  to  many  persons  of  different  denominations,  several 
gentlemen  proposed  among  themselves  to  set  up  a  week-day 
lecture,  that  they  might  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  him. 
Accordingly  they  formed  themselves  into  a  society,  and  agreed 
to  have  a  lecture  on  Wednesday  evenings,  in  Great  Eastcheap, 
and  set  on  foot  a  subscription  to  support  it.     Upon  their  invita- 


136  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

tion  Mr.  Gill  undertook  the  lectureship.  He  opened  it  in  the  year 
1729  with  a  discourse  or  two  on  Psalm  Ixxi.  16:  "  I  will  go  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord  God :  I  will  make  mention  of  Thy  righteous- 
ness, even  of  Thine  only."  Through  divine  grace  he  was  enabled 
to  abide  by  this  resolution  to  the  edification  of  many,  preaching 
in  Great  Eastcheap  for  more  than  twenty-six  years,  and  only  relin- 
quished the  lecture  when  the  infirmities  of  years  were  telling  upon 
him,  and  he  felt  a  great  desire  to  give  all  his  time  to  the  comple- 
tion of  his  great  expository  works. 

As  a  pastor  he  presided  over  the  flock  with  dignity  and  aftec- 
tion.  In  the  course  of  his  ministry  he  had  some  weak,  some 
unworthy,  and  some  very  wicked  persons  to  deal  with.  To  the 
feeble  of  the  flock  he  was  an  aff'ectionate  friend  and  father.  He 
readily  bore  with  their  weaknesses,  failings,  and  infirmities,  and 
particularly  when  he  saw  they  were  sincerely  on  the  Lord's  side. 
A  godly  woman  visited  him  one  day,  in  great  trouble,  about  the 
singing;  for  the  clerk,  in  about  three  years,  had  introduced  two 
new  tunes.  Not  that  he  was  a  famous  singer,  or  able  to  conduct 
a  great  variety  of  song,  but  he  did  his  best.  The  young  people 
were  pleased  with  the  new  tunes ;  but  the  good  woman  could  not 
bear  the  innovation.  The  Doctor,  after  patiently  listening,  asked 
her  whether  she  understood  singing?  No,  she  said.  "What!  can't 
you  sing?"  No,  she  was  no  singer,  nor  her  aged  father  before 
her.  And  though  they  had  had  about  a  hundred  years  between 
them  to  learn  the  Old  Hundredth  tune,  they  could  not  sing  it, 
nor  any  otJier  time.  The  Doctor  did  not  hurt  her  feelings  by 
telling  her  that  people  who  did  not  understand  singing  were  the 
last  who  should  complain ;  but  he  meekly  said :  "  Sister,  what 
tunes  should  you  like  us  to  sing?  "  "  Why,  sir,"  she  replied,  "  I 
should  very  much  like  David's  tunes."  "Well,"  said  he,  "  if  you 
will  get  David's  tunes  for  us,  we  can  then  try  to  sing  them." 
Such  weak  good  people  may  be  found  among  all  denominations 
of  Christians. 

All  the  stories  told  of  Dr.  Gill  are  somewhat  grim.  He  could 
not  come  down  to  the  level  of  men  and  women  of  the  common 
order  so  far  as  to  be  jocose ;  and  when  he  attempted  to  do  so  he 
looked  like  Hercules  with  the  distaff,  or  Goliath  threading  a  needle. 


Dr.  John  Gill. 


THE   METROPOLITAN  TABERNACLE.  1 37 

When  he  verged  upon  the  humorous  the  jokes  were  ponderous 
and  overwhelming,  burying  his  adversary  as  well  as  crushing  him. 
It  is  said  that  a  garrulous  dame  once  called  upon  him  to  find  fault 
with  the  excessive  length  of  his  white  bands.  "  Well,  well,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "what  do  you  think  is  the  right  length?  Take  them 
and  make  them  as  long  or  as  short  as  you  like."  The  lady 
expressed  her  delight;  she  was  sure  that  her  dear  pastor  would 
grant  her  request,  and  therefore  she  had  brought  her  scissors  with 
her,  and  would  do  the  trimming  at  once.  Accordingly,  snip,  snip, 
and  the  thing  was  done,  and  the  bibs  returned.  "  Now,"  said  the 
Doctor,  "  my  good  sister,  you  must  do  me  a  good  turn  also." 
"Yes,  that  I  will.  Doctor.  What  can  it  be?"  "Well,  you  have 
something  about  you  which  is  a  deal  too  long,  and  causes  me  no 
end  of  trouble,  and  I  should  like  to  see  it  shorter."  "  Indeed,  dear 
sir,  I  will  not  hesitate,"  said  the  dame;  "what  is  it?  Here  are  the 
scissors,  use  them  as  you  please."  "  Come,  then,"  said  the  pastor, 
"  good  sister,  p7it  out yoiir  tongue  ! ''  We  have  often  pictured  him 
sitting  in  the  old  chair,  which  is  preserved  in  our  vestry,  and  thus 
quietly  rebuking  the  gossip. 

The  comparative  asperity  of  his  manner  was  probably  the  result 
of  his  secluded  habits,  and  also  of  that  sturdy  firmness  of  mind, 
which  in  other  directions  revealed  itself  so  admirably.  When  he 
was  once  warned  that  the  publication  of  a  certain  book  would  lose 
him  many  supporters  and  reduce  his  income,  he  did  not  hesitate  for 
a  moment,  but  replied:  "Do  not  tell  me  of  losing.  I  value  nothing 
in  comparison  with  gospel  truth.     I  am  not  afraid  to  be  poor !  " 

The  mighty  commentator  having  been  followed  to  his  grave  by 
his  attached  church  and  a  great  company  of  ministers  and  Chris- 
tian people,  among  whom  he  had  been  regarded  as  a  great  man 
and  a  prince  in  Israel,  his  church  began  to  look  around  for  a 
successor.  This  time,  as  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Gill,  there  was  trouble 
in  store,  for  there  was  division  of  opinion.  Some,  no  doubt,  as 
true  Gillites,  looked  only  for  a  solid  divine,  sound  in  doctrine,  who 
would  supply  the  older  saints  with  spiritual  food ;  while  another 
party  had  an  eye  to  the  growth  of  the  church  and  to  the  securing 
to  the  flock  the  younger  members  of  their  families.  They  were 
agreed  that  they  would  write  to  Bristol  for  a  probationer,  and  Mr. 


138  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

John  Rippon  was  sent  to  them.  He  was  a  youth  of  some  twenty 
summers,  of  a  vivacious  temperament,  quick  and  bold.  The  older 
members  judged  him  to  be  too  young  and  too  flighty;  they  even 
accused  him  of  having  gone  up  the  pulpit  stairs  two  steps  at  a 
time  on  some  occasion  when  he  was  hurried,  —  a  grave  offence 
for  which  the  condemnation  could  hardly  be  too  severe.  He  was 
only  a  young  man,  and  came  from  an  academy,  and  this  alone 
was  enough  to  make  the  sounder  and  older  members  afraid  of 
him.  He  preached  for  a  lengthened  time  on  probation,  and 
finally  some  forty  persons  withdrew  because  they  could  not  agree 
with  the  enthusiastic  vote  by  which  the  majority  of  the  people 
elected  him. 

John  Rippon  modestly  expressed  his  wonder  that  even  more 
had  not  been  dissatisfied,  and  his  surprise  that  so  large  a  number 
were  agreed  to  call  him  to  the  pastorate.  In  the  spirit  of  forbear- 
ance and  brotherly  love  he  proposed  that,  as  these  friends  were 
seceding  for  conscience'  sake,  and  intended  to  form  themselves 
into  another  church,  they  should  be  lovingly  dismissed  with  prayer 
and  God  speed,  and  that,  as  a  token  of  fraternal  love,  they  should 
be  assisted  to  build  a  meeting-house  for  their  own  convenience, 
and  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  should  be  voted  to  them 
when  their  church  was  formed  and  their  meeting-house  erected. 
The  promise  was  redeemed,  and  Mr.  Rippon  took  part  in  the 
ordination  service  of  the  first  minister.  This  was  well  done.  Such 
a  course  was  sure  to  secure  the  blessing  of  God.  The  church  in 
Dean  Street  thus  became  another  offshoot  from  the  parent  stem, 
and  with  varying  conditions  it  remains  to  this  day  as  the  church 
in  Trinity  Street,  Borough. 

He  will  be  best  known  as  having  prepared  the  first  really  good 
selection  of  hymns  for  dissenting  congregations.  Although  a  Bap- 
tist collection,  it  was  extensively  used  with  Dr.  Watts's  among  both 
classes  of  Congregationalists.  This  work  was  an  estate  to  its 
author,  and  he  is  said  to  have  been  more  than  sufficiently  eager 
to  push  its  sale.  One  thing  we  know,  his  presents  of  nicely  bound 
copies  must  have  been  pretty  frequent,  for  we  have  seen  several 
greatly  prized  by  their  aged  owners,  who  have  showed  them  to  us, 
with  the  remark,  "  The  dear  old  Doctor  gave  me  that  himself." 


■%a?4_ 


Dr.  John  Rippon  in  his  Youth. 


THE    MEIROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE.  I  39 

The  happy  eccentricity  of  the  Doctor's  character  may  be  illus- 
trated by  a  Httle  incident  in  connection  with  royalty.  He  was 
deputed  to  read  an  address  from  the  Dissenters  to  George  III., 
congratulating  him  upon  recovery  from  sickness.  The  Doctor 
read  on  with  his  usual  clear  utterance  till,  coming  to  a  passage 
in  which  there  was  special  reference  to  the  goodness  of  God,  he 
paused  and  said:  "  Please  your  Majesty,  we  will  read  that  again," 
and  then  proceeded  with  his  usual  cool  dignity  to  repeat  the  sen- 
tence with  emphasis.  No  other  man  in  the  deputation  would  have 
thought  of  doing  such  a  thing,  but  from  Rippon  it  came  so  natu- 
rally that  no  one  censured  him,  or  if  they  did  it  would  have  had 
no  effect  upon  Jiim. 

There  are  still  some  in  the  church  who  cherish  his  memory  with 
affectionate  and  well-deserved  reverence ;  and  there  are  thousands 
in  heaven  who  were  led  first  to  love  the  Saviour  by  his  earnest 
exhortations.  He  quarried  fresh  stones,  and  built  up  the  church. 
He  moulded  its  thought  and  directed  its  energies.  Without  being 
great  he  was  exceedingly  useful,  and  the  period  in  which  he  v/as 
one  of  the  judges  of  our  Israel  was  one  of  great  prosperity  in 
spiritual  things.  It  was  a  good  sixty-three  years,  and  with  the 
previous  pastorate  of  Dr.  Gill,  enabled  the  church  to  say  that 
during  one  Jinndred  and  seventeen  years  they  had  been  presided  over 
by  tivo  ministers  only.  Those  who  are  given  to  change  were  not 
numerous  in  the  community.  Short  pastorates  are  good  when 
ministers  are  feeble,  but  it  is  a  great  blessing  when  the  saints  are 
so  edified  that  all  are  content,  and  the  ministry  is  so  owned  of 
God  that  vacancies  are  filled  up  even  before  they  are  felt :  in  such 
a  case  change  would  wantonly  imperil  the  hope  of  continued  pros- 
perity, and  would  therefore  be  criminal. 

The  next  pastor  of  our  church  was  Mr.  —  now  Doctor — JOSEPH 
Angus,  a  gentleman  whose  career  since  he  left  us  to  become  sec- 
retary of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  and  afterwards  the  tutor 
of  Stepney  Academy,  now  Regent's  Park  College,  has  rendered 
his  name  most  honorable  among  living  Baptists.  He  is  one  of 
the  foremost  classical  scholars,  and  is  a  member  of  the  committee 
for  producing  a  revised  version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  is  the 
author  of  those  standard  books,   "  The  Bible   Handbook,"  "  The 


I40  LIFE   AND   LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Handbook  of  the  English  Tongue,"  and  "  Handbook  of  Enghsh 
Literature." 

Mr.  James  Smith  succeeded  Dr.  Angus,  and  after  a  useful  pas- 
torate of  eight  years  resigned  on  account  of  ill  health.  In  October, 
1849,  he  wrote:  "  For  a  considerable  time  I  have  felt  an  oppres- 
sion on  my  chest,  and  great  difficulty  in  breathing.  Last  week  I 
consulted  a  doctor  upon  it,  and  he  advised  me  to  leave  London  as 
soon  as  I  could,  and  get  into  the  country,  as  my  lungs  require  a 
purer  air.  I  am  seeking  wisdom  from  God :  I  cannot  doubt  but 
He  will  guide  me." 

In  February,  1850,  he  said:  "I  have  written  my  resignation  of 
office,  and  laid  it  before  the  deacons.  It  is  a  serious  and  impor- 
tant step  which  I  have  taken.  I  trust  I  have  taken  it  in  a  proper 
spirit,  and  from  a  right  motive.  My  mind  is  now  calm  and  peace- 
ful, the  agitation  from  which  I  have  long  been  suffering  is  at  an 
end,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  could  now  leave  the  matter  with  the  Lord. 

"  When  my  resignation  was  accepted,  the  church  passed  a  very 
kind  and  affectionate  resolution  regretting  that  I  felt  it  necessary 
to  take  such  a  step ;  but  as  I  had  rested  it  pretty  much  on  the 
state  of  my  health,  they  did  not  feel  that  they  could  refuse  to 
accede  to  my  wishes.  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  labored  in  vain 
here,  for  many  souls  have  been  converted,  some  backsliders  have 
been  restored,  and  between  four  hundred  and  five  hundred  mem- 
bers have  been  added  to  the  church  during  my  pastorate  of  eight 
years.  Many  of  my  poor  people  deeply  feel  the  step  which  I 
have  felt  it  my  duty  to  take,  and  I  have  received  very  affectionate 
letters  from  several  of  them.  May  they  soon  be  favored  with  a 
pastor  more  suitable  and  efficient  than  I  have  been." 

Mr.  Smith  built  up  in  Cheltenham  the  strong  working  church 
now  meeting  in  Cambray  Chapel,  which  was  erected  by  his  exer- 
tions. When  he  was  lying  upon  his  dying  bed  the  church  at  the 
Tabernacle  sent  him  a  heartily  affectionate  letter,  and  gratefully 
reminded  him  of  all  the  blessing  which  the  Lord  had  bestowed 
upon  many  souls  by  his  means.  To  this  we  received  a  delightful 
answer,  assuring  us  that  our  words  had  greatly  cheered  him.  He 
died  in  1861,  and  an  account  of  an  interview  with  him  may  inter- 
est the   reader  if  we  include   it  in  our  pages.     "  I  saw  this  week 


THE   METROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE.  I41 

the  former  pastor  of  this  church,  Mr.  James  Smith  of  Cheltenham. 
About  a  year  ago  he  was  struck  with  paralysis,  and  one  half  of 
his  body  is  dead.  But  yet  I  have  seldom  seen  a  more  cheerful 
man  in  the  full  heyday  of  strength.  I  had  been  told  that  he  was 
the  subject  of  very  fearful  conflicts  at  times ;  so  after  I  had  shaken 
hands  with  him,  I  said :  *  Friend  Smith,  I  hear  you  have  many 
doubts  and  fears!'  'Who  told  you  that?'  said  he,  'for  I  have 
none.'  'Never  have  any?  Why,  I  understood  you  had  many 
conflicts.'  '  Yes,'  he  said,  '  I  have  many  conflicts,  but  I  have  no 
doubts ;  I  have  many  wars  within,  but  I  have  no  fears.  Who 
could  have  told  you  that?  I  hope  I  have  not  led  any  one  to  think 
that.  It  is  a  hard  battle,  but  the  victory  is  sure.'  Then  he  said 
in  his  own  way,  '  I  am  just  like  a  packet  that  is  all  ready  to  go  by 
train,  packed,  corded,  labelled,  paid  for,  and  on  the  platform, 
waiting  for  the  express  to  come  by  and  take  me  to  glory.  I  wish 
I  could  hear  the  whistle  now.'  " 

In  July,  1 85  I,  the  church  invited  the  Rev.  WlLLTAM  WALTERS, 
of  Preston,  to  become  the  pastor,  but  as  he  understood  the  dea- 
cons to  intimate  to  him  that  his  ministry  was  not  acceptable,  he 
tendered  his  resignation,  and  although  requested  to  remain,  he 
judged  it  more  advisable  to  remove  to  Halifax  in  June,  1853,  thus 
closing  a  ministry  of  two  years.  These  changes  sadly  diminished 
the  church  and  marred  its  union.  The  clouds  gathered  heavily, 
and  no  sunlight  appeared. 

[But  this  did  not  long  continue,  as  in  the  next  year  the  youthful 
pastor  of  Waterbeach,  CHARLES  H.  Spurgeon,  in  his  twentieth 
year,  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  church,  and  has  continued 
his  fruitful  ministry  there  for  eight  and  twenty  years.] 

Under  date  January  6,  1861,  there  stands  in  the  records  the 
following  solemn  declaration,  signed  by  the  pastor  and  leading 
friends :  "  This  church  needs  rather  more  than  ^4,000  (twenty 
thousand  dollars)  to  enable  it  to  open  the  new  Tabernacle  free  of 
all  debt.  It  humbly  asks  this  temporal  mercy  of  God,  and  be- 
lieves that  for  Jesus'  sake  the  prayer  will  be  heard  and  the  boon 
bestowed.     As  witness  our  hands." 

Now  let  the  reader  mark  that,  on  May  6th  of  the  same  year,  the 
pastor  and  many  friends  also  signed  their  names  to  another  testi- 


142 


LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


mony,  which  is  worded  as  follows:  "  We,  the  undersigned,  mem- 
bers of  the  church  lately  worshipping  in  New  Park-street  Chapel, 
but  now  assembling  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  Nev/ington, 
desire  with  overflowing  hearts  to  make  known  and  record  the 
loving-kindness  of  our  faithful  God.  We  asked  in  faith,  but  our 
Lord  has  exceeded  our  desires,  for  not  only  was  the  whole  sum 
given  us,  but  far  sooner  than  we  had  looked  for  it.  Truly,  the 
Lord  is  good  and  worthy  to  be  praised.  We  are  ashamed  of  our- 
selves that  we  have  ever  doubted  Him,  and  we  pray  that  as  a 
church  and  as  individuals  we  may  be  enabled  to  trust  in  the  Lord 


NEW    PARK-STREET   CHAPEL, 
The  first  building  in  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  in  London. 


at  all  times  with  confidence,  so  that  in  quietness  we  may  possess 
our  souls.  To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  we  offer  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  and  we  set  to  our  seal  that  God  is  true." 

After  about  a  month  of  Opening  Services,  regular  work  com- 
menced at  the  Tabernacle  in  May,  1861,  the  whole  building  being 
free  of  debt,  and  the  accounts  showing  that  $156,660  had  been 
received,  and  the  same  amount  expended.  Truly  we  serve  a 
gracious  God. 

The  Tabernacle  is  146  feet  long,  81  feet  broad,  and  62  feet  high. 
There  are  some  5.500  sittings  of  all  kinds.  There  is  room  for 
6,000  persons  without  excessive  crowding;  and  we  have  also  a 
lecture-hall  holding  about  900,  schoolroom  for  1,000  children,  six 


THE    METROPOLITAN    TABERNACLE.  1 43 

class-rooms,  kitchen,  lavatory,  and  retiring  rooms  below  stairs. 
We  have  a  ladies'  room  for  working  meetings,  young  men's  class- 
room, and  secretary's  room  on  the  ground  floor ;  three  vestries, 
for  pastor,  deacons,  and  elders  on  first  floor,  and  three  store-rooms 
on  the  second  floor.  The  accommodation  is  all  too  little  for  the 
work  to  be  carried  on,  and  we  are  glad  to  use  the  rooms  at  the 
Almshouses  and  the  College. 

In  October,  1867,  the  pastor  having  for  several  years  been  laid 
aside  at  intervals  by  painful  illness,  and  it  having  been  stated  by 
eminent  physicians  that  this  was  due  to  the  over-straining  of  his 
mental  powers,  the  deacons  and  elders,  after  consulting  together, 
recommended  the  church  to  request  Mr.  J.  A.  Spurgeon  to 
become  co-pastor  with  his  brother,  to  relieve  him  of  much  of  the 
pastoral  work.  This  happy  arrangement  was  carried  out  January 
9,  1868,  and  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  the  senior  pastor,  both 
in  church  and  college  work.  Mr.  James  Spurgeon  is  now  also 
the  pastor  of  a  large  and  growing  church  in  Croydon,  for  which 
he  has  erected  a  noble  chapel,  where  he  is  able  to  exercise  his 
ministry  on  the  Lord's  day ;  his  help  being  mainly  required  at  the 
Tabernacle  upon  week  days,  and  in  the  general  oversight  of  the 
church.  No  more  efficient  or  sympathetic  helper  could  possibly 
have  been  found. 

In  addition  to  the  College  and  Orphanage,  the  following  insti- 
tutions are  also  connected  with  the  Tabernacle.  Who  shall  dare 
say  that  this  is  not  A  WORKING  CHURCH?  We  collate  from 
trustworthy  documents. 

Tabernacle  Building  Fund.  —  Capital  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  capital  is  lent  out  without  interest  to  chapels  in  debt, 
to  encourage  them  to  clear  themselves  of  their  liabilities.  Thus 
this  capital  remains  and  continues  to  benefit  one  church  after 
another.  The  fund  was  originally  raised  in  order  that  the  pastor 
might  feel  that  in  case  of  his  death  there  would  be  money  avail- 
able to  pay  for  the  completion  of  the  studies  of  the  men  in 
College. 

Mrs.  Spurgeon  s  Book  Fund.  —  The  pastor's  beloved  wife, 
touched    with    the    poverty   of  many   ministers,   commenced    this 


144  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

fund  to  supply  the  most  needy  with  books.  She  makes  this  the 
pleasant  business  of  her  life,  when  she  has  respite  from  pain,  and 
sufficient  strength. 

Mr.  Ojickeu's  German  Mission.  —  The  church  supports  two 
missionaries  in  Germany,  —  at  Templin  and  Hamburg. 

Mission  to  the  Jews.  —  There  is  a  small  auxiliary  to  this  mis- 
sion. 

Mr.  Orsmaiis  Missioji  in  Golden  Lane,  City,  one  of  the  most 
useful  in  all  London,  is  an  entirely  independent  enterprise,  but 
Mr.  Orsman  is  still  a  member  at  the  Tabernacle, 

RicJimond-street  Mission  a?id  Schools,  Walworth.  —  In  1875  new 
premises  were  erected  for  this  mission  at  a  cost  of  over  four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  which  is  all  paid.  Sunday  and 
Ragged  Schools,  and  adult  classes.  Children  in  schools,  650. 
Preaching,  tract  distribution.  Band  of  Hope,  evangelistic  work, 
&c.,  all  in  active  operation. 

Green  Walk  Mission,  Bermondsey.  —  A  mighty  warfare  against 
sin  has  been  carried  on  here,  and  very  many  brought  to  Jesus  and 
added  to  the  Tabernacle  church.  Hall  thronged  to  hear  the  gos- 
pel. About  350  children  in  the  schools.  Mothers'  meetings.  Band 
of  Hope,  Tract  Society,  Open  Air  Mission,  Bible  and  Singing 
Classes,  and  children's  special  service.    All  at  work  and  all  alive. 

James  Grove,  Peckham.  —  Here  a  chapel  has  been  built  and  a 
congregation  gathered,  with  schools.  Many  members  have  been 
added  to  the  Tabernacle  church,  and  we  hope  ere  long  to  form 
them  into  a  separate  community  and  let  them  run  alone. 

Mr.  Hampton  s  Blind  Missioji.  —  Established  some  years,  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  poor  blind.  There  is  a  Sunday-school  for 
blind  children.  Tea  is  given  on  Sunday  afternoon  to  the  blind 
and  their  guides,  and  then  service  is  held.  Two  hundred  blind 
and  guides  attend. 

Mi's.  Thomas  s  Mothers'  Mission.  —  Our  afflicted  friend  carries 
on  this  work  with  the  help  of  some  of  our  members,  and  it  is  a 
great  success.  Seventy  women  are  on  the  books.  Clothes,  loan- 
boxes,  &c.,  provided  for  poor  women. 

Other  mothers'  meetings  are  held  by  various  ladies  of  the 
church. 


THE   METROPOLITAN   TABERNACLE.  I45 

Tabernacle  Sunday-school.  —  Held  in  the  Tabernacle  school- 
room and  in  the  College.  Children,  1,000  in  regular  attendance; 
150  in  senior  classes,  each  of  which  deserves  separate  mention 
if  we -had  space.  Young  Christians'  Association,  216  members. 
Children's  and  teachers'  library.  The  school  raises  from  $250 
to  $300  per  annum  for  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  There  is 
a  Band  of  Hope  and  a  working  class. 

AlinsJiouses.  —  The  day-schools  are  as  full  as  they  can  hold. 
Here  there  are  Sunday-schools,  and  an  adult  class  of  120  mem- 
bers. 

Orphanage.  —  Here,  too,  Sunday-school  work  goes  on  vigor- 
ously. 

Mrs.  Bartletfs  Class.  —  This  famous  class,  since  the  decease  of 
its  invaluable  leader,  is  now  presided  over  by  her  son  Edward, 
who  is  an  indefatigable  laborer  in  many  ways.  The  class  is  well 
attended,  numbering  from  500  to  700;  it  carries  on  many  meet- 
ings and  works  of  usefulness,  and  manifests  a  right  royal  liberality 
to  the  College,  for  which  it  raises  a  large  amount  annually.  Very 
many  have  come  into  the  church  from  this  class. 

Mr.  Perkins' s  Bible  Class.  —  An  earnest,  united  band  of  young 
men,  who  meet  on  Sabbath  afternoons  in  the  vestry  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle. They  carry  on  dilTerent  works  of  usefulness  and  aid 
the  College. 

Mr.  Bowkers  Bible  Class  is  of  the  same  character,  and  meets 
in  the  Octagonal  Room  of  the  College.  It  is  an  earnest  class, 
helps  its  own  poor,  works  for  Jesus,  and  aids  in  supporting  the 
College. 

Mr.  Charlesworth  has  a  Ladies'  Bible  Class  on  Thursdays  before 
the  service,  and  a  Yottng  Men's  Bible  Class  on  Sabbath  afternoons, 
both  prospering.     The  two  classes  support  a  Bible-carriage. 

Baptist  Cojintry  Mission.  —  A  small  society,  but  full  of  life.  It 
seeks  to  evangelize  the  villages  by  open-air  preaching,  and  open- 
ing rooms  for  services.  With  small  funds,  it  has  during  late 
years  carried  on  three  promising  interests,  —  in  Putney,  Waltham- 
stow,  and  Carshalton.  Others  in  past  years  have  become  self- 
supporting  churches,  and  so  will  these.  It  is  making  attempts  in 
villages  further  afield,  and  Christ  is  preached  faithfully.     It  is  an 

10 


1,46  I.IKE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

evangelistic  effort  for  the  suburbs  and  country.     Its  expenditure 
was  only  three  hundred  dollars  in  one  year. 

•  Evangelists'  Association.  —  Is  fully  at  work  in  halls,  lodging- 
houses,  street  corners,  the  Tabernacle  steps,  &c.  Services  have 
been  successfully  carried  on  at  Dunn's  Institute  and  Tabernacle 
Almshouses,  and  in  various  chapels  where  the  ministers  have 
allowed  evangelistic  meetings  to  be  held.  This  society  sends 
brethren  to  any  church  needing  such  assistance. 

Loan  Tract  Society  for  Tabernacle  District.  —  Tracts  and  the 
pastor's  sermons  are  lent  out,  and  two  thousand  families  visited 
every  week.     Several  conversions  have  resulted. 

General  Loan  Tract  Society.  —  Supplies  the  pastor's  sermons  in 
free  grants  to  poor  districts,  where  friends  arrange  for  their  loan. 
With  the  very  best  results,  this  work  has  been  carried  on  in  seven- 
teen counties  of  England. 

Another  society,  called  TJie  Rock  Loan  Tract  Society,  lends 
sermons  chiefly  in  country  villages. 

The  Oj'dinance  Poor  Fund  distributes  among  the  poor  members 
of  the  church  about  four  thousand  dollars  annually. 

Ladies'  Benevolent  Society.  —  For  making  clothing  and  relieving 
the  poor.     A  very  useful  society. 

Ladies'  Maternal  Society.  —  For  the  aid  of  poor  women  in  their 
confinements.  One  hundred  and  sixty-two  boxes  of  linen  lent 
during  the  year. 

Mrs.  Evans's  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Working  Society 
makes  up  boxes  of  garments  for  missionaries,  and  also  for  poor 
ministers  and  their  families  at  home.  This  is  a  blessed  work,  and 
has  made  glad  many  a  poor  servant  of  Jesus. 


XIL 
THE    PASTORS'    COLLEGE. 


Souls  are  not  saved  by  systems,  but  by  the  Spirit.  Organizations  without 
the  Holy  Ghost  are  mills  without  wind,  or  water,  or  steam  power.  Methods 
and  arrangements  without  grace  are  pipes  from  a  dry  conduit,  lamps  without 
oil,  banks  without  capital.  Even  the  most  Scriptural  forms  of  church  govern- 
ment and  effort  are  clouds  without  rain  till  the  "power  from  on  high"  be 
given.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THE    PASTORS'    COLLEGE. 


COLLEGES  may  become  a  bane  or  a  blessing.  How  many 
of  them  have  been  harmful  in  their  unsanctified  learning ! 
What  responsibility  rests  upon  the  faculty  of  a  college !  Not 
always  through  evil  teaching,  but  by  indifference  on  the  part  of  the 
professors,  have  there  been  so  many  moral  wrecks  in  these  halls 
of  learning.  Indifference,  we  say,  on  the  part  of  teachers  who  had 
no  care  for  their  students  beyond  that  of  teaching  the  young  idea 
how  to  shoot  a  classic  bow,  or  dig  up  Greek  and  Latin  roots. 
Nevertheless,  the  Christian  student  must  take  the  blame  upon 
himself  if  he  departs  from  the  living  God.  There  are,  however, 
colleges  which  are  "  schools  of  the  prophets,"  where  the  moral 
and  mental  requirements  are  faithfully  considered  and  judiciously 
ministered  unto.  From  such  training-ground  men  of  might  come 
forth  fit  for  the  battle,  like  David's  heroes,  bold  as  lions,  and 
swift  as  the  roes  upon  the  mountains.  Oh,  that  their  name  were 
legion ! 

The  unswerving  aim  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  been  to  help  his 
young  men  in  Bible  knowledge,  so  that  they  may  be  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works.  He  has  had  long  experience  in 
Christian  work,  and  every  year  his  conviction  deepens  that  there 
cannot  be  a  healthy  church  where  an  unspiritual  minister  leads. 
In  addition,  therefore,  to  the  development  of  intellect,  and  as  the 
great  desideratum,  he  prays  and  labors  to  bring  his  students  into 
the  life  of  faith  and  deep  Christian  experience.  To  an  unloving 
heart  Jesus  will  not  commit  the  care  of  His  sheep.  The  first  and 
only  question  with  Him  is,  "Lovest  thou  Me?"     And  the  beloved 


150  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

president  of  the  Pastors'  College  is  in  sympathy  with  his  gracious 
Master's  purpose,  viz.,  that  men  filled  with  divine  love  may  be 
sent  forth  duly  qualified  to  preach  the  gospel  and  to  teach  God's 
Word  to  the  world  lying  in  wickedness. 

None  is  better  fitted  to  speak  of  the  College,  from  its  incipiency 
to  its  present  successful  administration,  than  its  honored  presi- 
dent. Its  object,  methods,  and  results  are,  thus  sketched  by  his 
own  pen :  — 

The  College  was  the  first  important  institution  commenced  by 
the  pastor,  and  it  still  remains  his  first-born  and  best  beloved.  To 
train  ministers  of  the  gospel  is  a  most  excellent  work,  and  when 
the  Holy  Spirit  blesses  the  effort,  the  result  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  both  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world. 

The  Pastors'  College  commenced  in  1856,  and  during  this  long 
period  has  unceasingly  been  remembered  of  the  God  of  heaven, 
to  whom  all  engaged  in  it  offer  reverent  thanksgiving.  When  it 
was  commenced,  I  had  not  even  a  remote  idea  of  whereunto  it 
would  grow.  There  were  springing  up  around  me,  as  my  own 
spiritual  children,  many  earnest  young  men  who  felt  an  irresistible 
impulse  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  yet  with  half  an  eye  it  could 
be  seen  that  their  want  of  education  would  be  a  sad  hindrance 
to  them.  It  was  not  in  my  heart  to  bid  them  cease  their  preach- 
ing, and  had  I  done  so,  they  would  in  all  probability  have  ignored 
my  recommendation.  As  it  seemed  that  preach  they  would, 
though  their  attainments  were  very  slender,  no  other  course  was 
open  but  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  educate  themselves  for 
the  work. 

The  Holy  Spirit  very  evidently  had  set  His  seal  upon  the  work 
of  one  of  them,  by  conversions  wrought  under  his  open-air  ad- 
dresses ;  it  seemed  therefore  to  be  a  plain  matter  of  duty  to 
instruct  this  youthful  Apollos  still  further,  that  he  might  be  fitted 
for  wider  usefulness.  No  college  at  that  time  appeared  to  me  to 
be  suitable  for  the  class  of  men  that  the  providence  and  grace 
of  God  drew  around  me.  They  were  mostly  poor,  and  most  of 
the  colleges  involved  necessarily  a  considerable  outlay  to  the 
student;   for  even  where  the  education  was  free,  books,  clothes, 


#*!^^ 


Georgf.  Rogers,  for  many  V'ears  Tutor  in  the  Pastor's  College. 


THE    I'ASTORS'    COLLEGE.  151 

and  Other  incidental  expenses  required  a  considerable  sum  per 
annum.  Moreover,  it  must  be  frankly  admitted  that  my  views 
of  the  gospel  and  of  the  mode  of  training  preachers  were  and 
are  somewhat  peculiar.  I  may  have  been  uncharitable  in  my 
judgment,  but  I  thought  the  Calvinism  of  the  theology  usually 
taught  to  be  very  doubtful,  and  the  fervor  of  the  generality  of 
the  students  to  be  far  behind  their  literary  attainments.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  preachers  of  the  grand  old  truths  of  the  gospel,  min- 
isters suitable  for  the  masses,  were  more  likely  to  be  found  in 
an  institution  where  preaching  and  divinity  would  be  the  main 
objects,  and  not  degrees  and  other  insignia  of  human  learning. 
I  felt  that,  without  interfering  with  the  laudable  objects  of  other 
colleges,  I  could  do  good  in  my  own  way.  These  and  other 
considerations  led  me  to  take  a  few  tried  young  men,  and  to  put 
them  under  some  able  minister,  that  he  might  train  them  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  in  other  knowledge  helpful  to  the  understanding 
and  proclamation  of  the  truth.  This  step  appeared  plain;  but 
how  the  work  was  to  be  conducted  and  supported  was  the  question, 
—  a  question,  be  it  added,  solved  almost  before  it  occurred. 

Two  friends,  both  deacons  of  the  church,  promised  aid,  which, 
Avith  what  I  could  give  myself,  enabled  me  to  take  one  student, 
and  I  set  about  to  find  a  tutor.  In  Mr.  George  Rogers,  God  sent 
us  the  very  best  man.  He  had  been  preparing  for  such  work,  and 
was  anxiously  waiting  for  it.  This  gentleman,  who  has  remained 
during  all  this  period  our  principal  tutor,  is  a  man  of  Puritanic 
stamp,  deeply  learned,  orthodox  in  doctrine,  judicious,  witty, 
devout,  earnest,  liberal  in  spirit,  and  withal  juvenile  in  heart  to 
an  extent  most  remarkable  in  one  of  his  years.  My  connection 
with  him  has  been  one  of  uninterrupted  comfort  and  delight.  The 
most  sincere  affection  exists  between  us ;  we  are  of  one  mind  and 
of  one  heart;  and,  what  is  equally  important,  he  has  in  every  case 
secured  not  merely  the  respect  but  the  filial  love  of  every  student. 
Into  this  beloved  minister's  house  the  first  students  were  intro- 
duced, and  for  a  considerable  period  they  were  domiciled  as 
members  of  his  family. 

Encouraged  by  the  readiness  with  which  the  young  men  found 
spheres  of  labor,  and  by  their  singular  success  in  soul-winning,  I 


152  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

enlarged  the  number;  but  the  whole  means  of  sustaining  them 
came  from  my  own  purse.  The  large  sale  of  my  sermons  in 
America,  together  with  my  dear  wife's  economy,  enabled  me  to 
spend  from  three  thousand  dollars  to  four  thousand  dollars  in  a 
year  in  my  own  favorite  work;  but  on  a  sudden,  owing  to  my 
denunciations  of  the  then  existing  slavery  in  the  States,  my  entire 
resources  from  that  "  brook  Cherith  "  were  dried  up.  I  paid  as 
large  sums  as  I  could  from  my  own  income,  and  resolved  to  spend 
all  I  had,  and  then  take  the  cessation  of  my  means  as  a  voice 
from  the  Lord  to  stay  the  effort,  as  I  am  firmly  persuaded  that 
we  ought  under  no  pretence  to  go  into  debt.  On  one  occasion 
I  proposed  the  sale  of  my  horse  and  carriage,  although  these 
were  almost  absolute  necessaries  to  me  on  account  of  my  contin- 
ual journeys  in  preaching  the  Word.  This  my  friend  Mr.  Rogers 
would  not  hear  of,  and  actually  offered  to  be  the  loser  rather  than 
this  should  be  done.  Then  it  was  that  I  told  my  difficulties  to 
my  people,  and  the  weekly  offering  commenced ;  but  the  incom- 
ings from  that  source  were  so  meagre  as  to  be  hardly  worth  calcu- 
lating upon.  I  was  brought  to  the  last  pound,  when  a  letter  came 
from  a  banker  in  the  City,  informing  me  that  a  lady,  whose  name 
I  have  never  been  able  to  discover,  had  deposited  a  sum  of  one 
thousand  dollars,  to  be  used  for  the  education  of  young  men  for 
the  ministry.  How  did  my  heart  leap  for  joy !  I  threw  myself 
then  and  henceforth  upon  the  bounteous  care  of  the  Lord,  whom 
I  desired  with  my  whole  heart  to  glorify  by  this  effort.  Some 
weeks  after,  another  five  hundred  dollars  came  in,  from  the  same 
bank,  as  I  was  informed,  from  another  hand.  Soon  after  Mr. 
Phillips,  a  beloved  deacon  of  the  church  at  the  Tabernacle,  began 
to  provide  an  annual  supper  for  the  friends  of  the  College,  at 
which  considerable  sums  have  from  year  to  year  been  given.  A 
dinner  was  also  given  by  my  liberal  publishers,  Messrs.  Passmore 
and  Alabaster,  to  celebrate  the  publishing  of  my  five-hundredth 
weekly  sermon,  at  which  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  were  raised 
and  presented  to  the  funds.  The  College  grew  every  month, 
and  the  number  of  students  rapidly  advanced  from  one  to  forty. 
Friends  known  and  unknown,  from  far  and  near,  were  moved  to 
give   little   or   much   to  my  work,  and  so  the  funds  increased  as 


THE   PASTORS'    COLLEGE.  1 53 

the  need  enlarged.  Then  another  earnest  deacon  of  the  church 
espoused  as  his  special  work  the  weekly  offering,  and  by  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  church  under  my  care  the  College  was 
adopted  as  its  own  child.  Since  that  hour  the  weekly  offering 
has  been  a  steady  source  of  income,  till  in  the  year  1869  the 
amount  reached  exactly  ^^1,869  ($9,345). 

There  have  been  during  this  period  times  of  great  trial  of  my 
faith ;  but  after  a  season  of  straitness,  never  amounting  to  absolute 
want,  the  Lord  has  always  interposed  and  sent  me  large  sums  (on 
one  occasion  five  thousand  dollars)  from  unknown  donors.  When 
the  Orphanage  was  thrust  upon  me,  it  did  appear  likely  that  this 
second  work  would  drain  the  resources  of  the  first,  and  it  is  very 
apparent  that  it  does  attract  to  itself  some  of  the  visible  sources 
of  supply;  but  my  faith  is  firm  that  the  Lord  can  as  readily  keep 
both  works  in  action  as  one.  My  own  present  inability  to  do  so 
much,  by  way  of  preaching  abroad,  occasions  naturally  the  failure 
of  another  great  source  of  income ;  and  as  my  increasing  labors 
at  home  will  in  all  probability  diminish  that  stream  in  perpetuity, 
there  is  another  trial  of  faith.  Yet,  if  the  Lord  wills  the  work  to 
be  continued,  He  will  send  His  servant  a  due  portion  of  the  gold 
and  silver,  which  are  all  His  own ;  and  therefore  as  I  wait  upon 
Him  in  prayer,  the  All-sufficient  Provider  will  supply  all  my  needs. 
About  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  is  annually  required  for  the 
College,  and  the  same  sum  is  needed  for  the  Orphanage ;  but  God 
will  move  His  people  to  liberality,  and  we  shall  see  greater  things 
than  these. 

While  speaking  of  pecuniary  matters,  it  may  be  well  to  add 
that,  as  many  of  the  young  men  trained  in  the  College  have  raised 
new  congregations  and  gathered  fresh  churches,  another  need  has 
arisen,  —  namely,  money  for  building  chapels.  It  is  ever  so  in 
Christ's  work ;  one  link  draws  on  another,  one  effort  makes  another 
needed.  For  chapel-building,  the  College  funds  could  do  but 
little,  though  they  have  freely  been  used  to  support  men  while 
they  are  collecting  congregations;  but  the  Lord  found  for  me 
one  of  His  stewards,  who,  on  the  condition  that  his  name  remains 
unknown,  has  hitherto,  as  the  Lord  has  prospered  him,  supplied 
very  princely  amounts  for  the   erection  of  places   of  worship,   of 


154  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

which  more  than  forty  have  been  built,  or  so  greatly  renovated 
and  enlarged  as  to  be  virtually  new  structures.  Truly  may  it  be 
said,  "What  hath  God  wrought!  " 

Pecuniary  needs,  however,  have  made  up  but  a  small  part  of 
our  cares.  Many  have  been  my  personal  exercises  in  selecting 
the  men.  Candidates  have  always  been  plentiful,  and  the  choice 
has  been  wide ;  but  it  is  a  serious  responsibility  to  reject  any,  and 
yet  more  to  accept  them  for  training.  When  mistakes  have  been 
made,  a  second  burden  has  been  laid  upon  me  in  the  dismissal  of 
those  who  appeared  to  be  unfit.  Even  with  the  most  careful  man- 
agement, and  all  the  assistance  of  tutors  and  friends,  no  human 
foresight  can  secure  that  in  every  case  a  man  shall  be  what  we 
believed  and  hoped.  A  brother  may  be  exceedingly  useful  as  an 
occasional  preacher;  he  may  distinguish  himself  as  a  diligent 
student;  he  may  succeed  at  first  in  the  ministry ;  *and  yet,  when 
trials  of  temper  and  character  occur  in  the  pastorate,  he  may  be 
found  wanting.  We  have  had  comparatively  few  causes  for  regret 
of  this  sort,  but  there  have  been  some  such,  and  these  pierce  us 
with  many  sorrows.  I  devoutly  bless  God  that  He  has  sent  to 
the  College  some  of  the  holiest,  soundest,  and  most  self-denying 
preachers  I  know,  and  I  pray  that  He  may  continue  to  do  so ;  but 
it  would  be  more  than  a  miracle  if  all  should  excel.  While  thus 
speaking  of  trials  connected  with  the  men  themselves,  it  is  due 
to  our  gracious  God  to  bear  testimony  that  these  have  been  com- 
paratively light,  and  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  great 
joy  which  we  experience  in  seeing  so  many  brethren  still  serving 
the  Lord  according  to  their  measure  of  gift,  and  all,  it  is  believed, 
earnestly  contending  for  the  faith  once  delivered  unto  the  saints ; 
nor  is  the  joy  less  in  remembering  that  eleven  have  sweetly  fallen 
asleep  after  having  fought  a  good  fight.  At  this  hour  some  of 
our  most  flourishing  Baptist  churches  are  presided  over  by  pastors 
trained  in  our  College,  and  as  years  shall  add  ripeness  of  experi- 
ence and  stability  of  character,  others  will  be  found  to  stand  in 
the  front  rank  of  the  Lord's  host. 

The  young  brethren  are  boarded  generally  in  twos  and  threes, 
in  the  houses  of  our  friends  around  the  Tabernacle,  for  which  the 
College  pays  a  moderate  weekly  amount.     The  plan  of  separate 


THE    I'ASTORS'    COLLECE.  I  55 

lodging-  we  believe  to  be  far  preferable  to  having  all  under  one 
roof;  for,  by  the  latter  mode,  men  are  isolated  from  general  fam- 
ily habits,  and  are  too  apt  to  fall  into  superabundant  levity.  The 
circumstances  of  the  families  who  entertain  our  young  friends  are 
generally  such  that  they  are  not  elevated  above  the  social  position 
which  in  all  probability  they  will  have  to  occupy  in  future  years, 
but  are  kept  in  connection  with  the  struggles  and  conditions  of 
every-day  life. 

Devotional  habits  are  cultivated  to  the  utmost,  and  the  students 
are  urged  to  do  as  much  evangelistic  work  as  they  can.  The 
severe  pressure  put  upon  them  to  make  the  short  term  as  useful 
as  possible,  leaves  small  leisure  for  such  efforts,  but  this  is  in  most 
instances  faithfully  economized.  Although  our  usual  period  is 
two  years,  whenever  it  is  thought  right  the  term  of  study  is 
lengthened  to  three  or  four  years ;  indeed,  there  is  no  fixed  rule, 
all  arrangements  being  ordered  by  the  circumstances  and  attain- 
ments of  each  individual. 

As  before  hinted,  our  numbers  have  greatly  grown,  and  now 
range  from  eighty  to  one  hundred.  Very  promising  men,  who 
are  suddenly  thrown  in  our  way,  are  received  at  any  time,  and 
others  who  are  selected  from  the  main  body  of  applicants  come 
in  at  the  commencement  of  terms.  The  church  at  the  Tabernacle 
continues  to  furnish  a  large  quota  of  men,  and  as  these  have  usu- 
ally been  educated  for  two  or  more  years  in  our  Evening  Classes, 
they  are  more  advanced  and  better  able  to  profit  by  our  two  years 
of  study.  We  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  spheres  for  men  who 
are  ready  and  fitted  for  them.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
the  supply  of  trained  ministers  is  in  advance  of  the  demand.  Even 
on  the  lowest  ground  of  consideration,  there  is  yet  very  much  land 
to  be  possessed ;  and  when  men  break  up  fresh  soil,  as  ours  are 
encouraged  to  do,  the  field  is  the  world,  and  the  prayer  for  more 
laborers  is  daily  more  urgent.  If  the  Lord  would  but  send  us 
funds  commensurate,  there  are  hundreds  of  neighborhoods  need- 
ing the  pure  gospel,  which  we  could  by  His  grace  change  from 
deserts  into  gardens.  How  far  this  is  a  call  upon  the  reader  let 
him  judge  as  in  the  sight  of  God.  Shall  there  be  the  gifts  and 
graces  of  the  Spirit  given  to  the  Church,  and  shall  there  not  also 


156  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

be  sufficient  bestowed  of  the  earthly  treasure?     How  much  owest 
thou  unto  my  Lord? 

The  College  was  for  some  little  time  aided  by  the  zealous 
services  of  Mr.  W.  Cubitt,  of  Thrapstone,  who  died  among  us, 
enjoying  our  highest  esteem.  Mr.  Gracey,  the  classical  tutor,  a 
most  able  brother,  is  one  of  ourselves,  and  was  in  former  years 
a  student,  though  from  possessing  a  solid  education,  he  needed 
little  instruction  from  us  except  in  theology.  In  him  we  have 
one  of  the  most  efficient  tutors  living,  a  man  fitted  for  any  post 
requiring  thorough  scholarship  and  aptness  in  communicating 
knowledge.  Mr.  Fergusson,  in  the  English  elementary  classes, 
does  the  first  work  upon  the  rough  stones  of  the  quarry,  and  we 
have  heard  from  the  men  whom  he  has  taught  in  the  Evening 
Classes,  speeches  and  addresses  which  would  have  adorned  any 
assembly,  proving  to  demonstration  his  ability  to  cope  with  the 
difficulties  of  uncultured  and  ignorant  minds.  Mr.  Johnson,  who 
zealously  aids  in  the  evening,  is  also  a  brother  precisely  suited  to 
the  post  which  he  occupies.  These  Evening  Classes  afford  an 
opportunity  to  Christian  men  engaged  during  the  day  to  obtain  an 
education  for  nothing  during  their  leisure  time,  and  very  many  avail 
themselves  of  the  privilege.  Nor  must  I  forget  to  mention  Mr. 
Selway,  who  takes  the  department  of  physical  science,  and  by  his 
interesting  experiments  and  lucid  descriptions  gives  to  his  listen- 
ers an  introduction  to  those  departments  of  knowledge  which  most 
abound  with  illustrations.  Last,  but  far  from  least,  I  adore  the 
goodness  of  God  which  sent  me  so  dear  and  efficient  a  fellow- 
helper  as  my  brother  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  Lord,  J.  A.  Spur- 
geon.  His  work  has  greatly  relieved  me  of  anxiety,  and  his 
superior  educational  qualifications  have  tended  to  raise  the  tone 
of  the  instruction  given. 

As  to  the  quality  of  the  preachers  whom  we  have  been  enabled 
to  send  forth,  we  need  no  more  impartial  witness  than  the  good 
Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  who  was  kind  enough  to  express  himself 
publicly  in  the  following  generous  terms :  — 

"  It  was  an  utter  fallacy  to  suppose  that  the  people  of  England 
would  ever  be  brought  to  a  sense  of  order  and  discipline  by  the 
repetition  of  miserable  services,  by  bits  of  wax  candle,  by  rags  of 


THE  PASTORS'    COLLEGE.  1 57 

Popery,  and  by  gymnastics  in  the  chancel :  nothing  was  adapted 
to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people  but  the  Gospel  message  brought 
home  to  their  hearts,  and  he  knew  of  none  who  had  done 
better  service  in  this  evangelistic  work  than  the  pupils  trained 
in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  College.  They  had  a  singular  faculty  for 
addressing  the  population,  and  going  to  the  very  heart  of  the 
people." 

Each  year  the  brethren  educated  at  the  Pastors'  College  are 
invited  to  meet  in  conference  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  they  are  gen- 
erously entertained  by  our  friends.  The  week  is  spent  in  holy 
fellowship,  prayer,  and  intercourse.  By  this  means  men  in  remote 
villages,  laboring  under  discouraging  circumstances  and  ready  to 
sink  from  loneliness  of  spirit,  are  encouraged  and  strengthened: 
indeed,  all  the  men  confess  that  a  stimulus  is  thus  given  which 
no  other  means  could  confer. 

All  things  considered,  gratitude  and  hope  are  supreme  in  con- 
nection with  the  Pastors'  College ;  and  with  praise  to  God  and 
thanks  to  a  thousand  friends,  the  president  and  his  helpers  gird 
up  the  loins  of  their  minds  for  yet  more  abundant  labors  in  the 
future.  To  every  land  we  hope  yet  to  send  forth  the  gospel  in 
its  fulness  and  purity.  We  pray  the  Lord  to  raise  up  missionaries 
among  our  students  and  make  every  one  a  winner  of  souls. 
Brethren,  remember  this  work  in  your  prayers,  and  in  your  allot- 
ment of  the  Lord's  portion  of  your  substance. 

When  the  necessity  for  new  college  buildings  was  plainly  indi- 
cated, a  friend  in  May,  1873,  sent  $5,000  towards  that  object.  On 
October  14,  1873,  the  foundation-stone  of  those  buildings  was  laid, 
when  the  people  contributed  $5,000,  the  students  gave  $1,500, 
and  undertook  to  raise  the  amount  to  $5,000.  In  1874  Messrs. 
Cory  and  Sons,  of  Cardiff,  sent  for  the  benefit  of  the  fund  $5,000 
worth  of  paid-up  shares  in  their  colliery  company.  Li  July,  1875, 
the  president  received  $25,000  for  the  same  object  as  a  legacy 
from  the  late  Mr.  Matthews.  These  are  named  as  examples  of  the 
various  ways  in  which  God  has  answered  prayer  and  rewarded 
the  faith  of  His  servant  in  that  important  work. 

Shortly  before  the  new  College  buildings  were  commenced, 
Mr.  Spurgeon,  by   an  article  in  "  The    Sword  and    the    Trowel," 


158  LIFE    AND   LABORS    OF   C.    H;    SPURGEON. 

directed  public  attention  to  the  institution.     The  following  extract 
will  suffice :  — 


The  supply  of  men  as  students  has  been  always  large,  and  at 
this  time  more  are  applying  than  ever.  Our  one  aim  has  been  to 
train  preachers  and  pastors.  The  College  is  made  into  a  home 
missionary  society  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  One  of  our 
students,  Mr.  F.  E.  Suddard,  was  first,  in  1872,  among  seven  com- 
petitors for  one  of  the  Dr.  Williams'  scholarships  at  the  Glasgow 
Ui*5versity.  In  the  metropolis  alone,  forty-five  churches  have 
been  founded. 

One  of  the  students  has  commenced  a  cause  in  Turk's  Island ; 
he  is  now  carrying  on  evangelistic  work  in  St.  Domingo,  where, 
if  he  is  spared,  he  is  likely  to  become  the  apostle  of  that  island, 
and  also  of  Hayti.  One  brother  has  gone  to  serve  the  Lord  in 
China,  two  others  are  laboring  in  Spain.  Several  are  doing  a  good 
work  in  Canada,  and  more  than  twenty  brethren  have  become 
pastors  in  America,  and  seven  others  are  gone  as  far  south  as 
Australia.  One  is  a  missionary  in  India,  and  another  in  Prince 
Edward  Island. 

The  suitable  and  commodious  new  buildings,  which  have  been 
erected  and  furnished,  cost  about  $75,000,  all  of  which  is  paid. 
Here  we  have  a  fine  hall,  excellent  class-rooms,  a  handsome 
library,  and,  in  fact,  all  that  a  college  can  require.  The  way  in 
which  the  money  was  raised  was  another  instance  of  divine  good- 
ness;  $15,000  was  given  as  a  memorial  to  a  dear  and  lamented 
husband;  $10,000  was  a  legacy  to  the  College  from  a  reader  of 
the  sermons.  The  ministers  who  had  been  formerly  students  came 
to  our  help  in  a  princely  fashion.  Large  amounts  were  made  up 
by  the  unanimous  offerings  of  Tabernacle  friends  on  days  when 
the  pastor  invited  the  members  and  adherents  to  be  his  guests  at 
the  College.  In  answer  to  prayer,  the  gold  and  the  silver  have 
been  ready  when  needed.  How  our  heart  exults  and  blesses  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 

The  Evening  Classes  are  in  a  high  condition  of  prosperity,  there 
being  about  two  hundred  men  in  regular  attendance,  and  a  con- 
siderable   number  among   them  of  hopeful   ability.     Out  of  this 


The  Pastor's  Collkge. 


THE    PASTORS'    COLLEGE.  1 59 

class  city  missionaries,  lay  preachers,  writers  for  the  press,  and 
colporteurs  are  continually  coming.  It  is  an  eminently  useful 
part  of  the  College  work. 

There  are  now  hundreds  of  men  proclaiming  the  gospel  who 
have  been  trained  in  the  College.  We  are  daily  expecting  more 
missionaries  to  be  raised  up  among  us. 

Our  statistics,  which  are  far  from  being  complete,  show  that 
these  brethren  baptized  20,676  persons  in  ten  years  (1865-1874), 
that  the  gross  increase  to  their  churches  was  30,677,  and  the  net 
increase  19,498.     Laus  Deo.. 


l60  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF  C.   H.   6PURGE0N. 


PSALM   LIII. 

The  foes  of  Zion  quake  for  fright, 

Where  no  fear  was  they  quail  ; 
For  well  they  know  that  Sword  of  might 

Which  cuts  through  coats  of  mail. 

The  Lord  of  old  defied  their  shields, 
And  all  their  spears  He  scorned  ; 

Their  bones  lay  scattered  o'er  the  fields, 
Unburied  and  unmourned. 

Let  Zion's  foes  be  filled  with  shame, 

Her  sons  are  blessed  of  God  ; 
Though  scoflfers  now  despise  their  name, 

The  Lord  shall  break  the  rod. 

Oh,  would  our  God  to  Zion  turn, 

God  with  salvation  clad  ; 
Then  Judah's  harps  should  music  learn, 

And  Israel  be  glad. 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


XIII. 
PRESIDENT'S    REPORT,    i88i. 


Petrarch's  works  are  said  to  have  lain  so  long  in  the  roof  of  St.  Mark's  at 
Venice,  that  they  became  turned  into  stone ;  by  what  process  deponent  sayeth 
not.  To  many  men  it  might  well  seem  that  the  Word  of  God  had  become  petri- 
fied, for  they  receive  it  as  a  hard,  lifeless  creed,  a  stone  upon  which  to  sharpen 
the  daggers  of  controversy,  a  stumbling-block  for  young  beginners,  a  millstone 
with  which  to  break  opponents'  heads,  after  the  manner  experienced  by  Abime- 
lech  at  Thebez.  A  man  must  have  a  stout  digestion  to  feed  upon  some  men's 
theology  —  no  sap,  no  sweetness,  no  life,  but  all  stern  accuracy  and  fleshless 
definition.  Proclaimed  without  tenderness  and  argued  without  affection,  the 
gospel  from  such  men  rather  resembles  a  missile  from  a  catapult  than  bread 
from  a  Father's  table.  Teeth  are  needlessly  broken  over  the  grit  of  systematic 
theology,  while  souls  are  famishing.  To  turn  stones  into  bread  was  a  tempta- 
tion of  our  Master;  but  how  many  of  His  servants  yield  readily  to  the  far  worse 
temptation  to  turn  bread  into  stone  !  Go  thy  way,  metaphysical  divine,  to  the 
stone-yard,  and  break  granite  for  McAdam,  but  stand  not  in  the  way  of  loving 
spirits  who  would  feed  the  family  of  God  with  living  bread.  The  inspired  Word 
is  to  us  spirit  and  life,  and  we  cannot  afford  to  have  it  hardened  into  a  huge 
monolith  or  a  spiritual  Stonehenge  —  sublime  but  cold,  majestic  but  lifeless; 
far  rather  would  we  have  it  as  our  own  household  book,  our  bosom  companion, 
the  p)Oor  man's  counsellor  and  friend.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


PRESIDENT'S    REPORT,    1881. 


/^N  enquiring  the  other  day  for  the  secretary  of  one  of  our 
^-^  largest  societies,  I  was  informed  that  he  had  gone  to  the 
seaside  for  a  month,  in  order  that  he  might  have  quiet  to  prepare 
the  report.  I  do  not  wonder  at  this  if  he  has  aforetime  written 
many  descriptions  of  the  same  work,  for  every  year  increases  the 
difficuhy  unless  a  man  is  prepared  to  say  the  same  thing  over 
and  over  again.  Very  few  can,  like  Paganini,  perform  so  admira- 
bly on  one  string  that  everybody  is  charmed  with  the  melody. 
The  task  grows  still  harder  when  the  year  has  been  peaceful  and 
successful.  It  has  been  truly  said,  "  Happy  is  the  nation  which 
has  no  history,"  because  it  has  been  free  from  changes,  wars,  con- 
vulsions, and  revolutions  ;  but  I  may  remark,  on  the  other  hand, 
unhappy  is  the  historian  who  has  to  produce  a  record  of  a  certain 
length  concerning  a  period  which  has  been  innocent  of  striking 
events,  —  making  bricks  without  straw  is  nothing  to  it.  The  Pas- 
tors' College  has  of  late  maintained  the  even  tenor  of  its  way, 
knowing  little  of  external  attack  and  nothing  of  internal  strife. 
Regular  in  its  work  and  fixed  in  its  purpose,  its  movement  has 
been  calm  and  strong.  Hence  there  are  no  thrilling  incidents, 
painful  circumstances,  or  striking  occurrences  with  which  to  fill 
my  page  and  thrill  my  reader's  soul.  Gratitude  writ  large  is 
about  the  only  material  at  hand  out  of  which  to  fashion  my  report. 
"  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  "  is  my  one  song,  and  I  feel  as  if  I 
could  repeat  it  a  thousand  times. 

The  College  started  with  a  definite  doctrinal  basis.  I  never 
affected  to  leave  great  questions  as  moot  points  to  be  discussed  in 
the  hall,  and  believed  or  not  believed,  as  might  be  the  fashion  of 


1 64  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  hour.  The  creed  of  the  College  is  well  known,  and  we  invite 
none  to  enter  who  do  not  accept  it.  The  doctrines  of  grace, 
coupled  with  a  firm  belief  in  human  responsibility,  are  held  with 
intense  conviction,  and  those  who  do  not  receive  them  would  not 
find  themselves  at  home  within  our  walls.  The  Lord  has  sent  us 
tutors  who  are  lovers  of  sound  doctrine  and  zealous  for  the  truth. 
No  uncertain  sound  has  been  given  forth  at  any  time,  and  we  would 
sooner  close  the  house  than  have  it  so.  Heresy  in  colleges  means 
false  doctrine  throughout  the  churches:  to  defile  the  fountain  is 
to  pollute  the  streams.  Hesitancy  which  might  be  tolerated  in  an 
ordinary  minister  would  utterly  disqualify  a  teacher  of  teachers. 
The  experiment  of  Doddridge  ought  to  satisfy  all  godly  men  that 
colleges  without  dogmatic  evangelical  teaching  are  more  likely 
to  be  seminaries  of  Socinianism  than  schools  of  the  prophets. 
Old  Puritanic  theology  has  been  heartily  accepted  by  those  re- 
ceived into  our  College,  and  on  leaving  it  they  have  almost  with 
one  consent  remained  faithful  to  that  which  they  have  received. 
The  men  are  before  the  public  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and 
their  testimony  well  known. 

This  institution  has  now  reached  its  twenty-fifth  year,  and  its 
object,  spirit,  and  manner  of  work  remain  the  same.  It  was 
intended  from  the  first  to  receive  young  men  who  had  been 
preaching  for  a  sufficient  time  to  test  their  abilities  and  their 
call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry;  and  such  young  men  have 
been  forthcoming  every  year  in  growing  numbers.  Some  bodies 
of  Christians  have  to  lament  that  their  ministry  is  not  adequately 
supplied :  I  know  of  one  portion  of  the  Church  which  is  sending 
up  to  heaven  bitter  lamentations  because  as  the  fathers  depart  to 
their  rest  there  is  scanty  hope  that  their  places  will  be  filled ;  but 
among  the  Baptists  the  candidates  for  the  ministry  are,  if  possible, 
too  plentiful.  This  is  a  new  state  of  things,  and  is  to  be  interpreted 
as  indicating  growth  and  zeal.  Certainly  the  applicants  are  not 
tempted  by  rich  livings,  or  even  by  the  prospect  of  competent 
support;  or,  if  they  are,  I  take  abundant  pains  to  set  before  them 
the  assured  truth  that  they  will  find  our  ministry  to  be  a  warfare 
abounding  in  long  marches  and  stern  battles ;  but  equally  notable 
for  meagre  rations.     Still  they  come,  and  it  needs  a  very  hard  heart 


PRESIDENT'S   REPORT,    1 88 1.  165 

to  repel  them,  and  to  refuse  to  eager  brethren  the  drill  and  equip- 
ment which  they  covet  so  earnestly.  If  it  were  wise  to  increase 
the  number  of  students,  another  hundred  of  suitable  men  could  at 
once  be  added  to  those  who  are  already  under  tuition. 

From  the  commencement  our  main  object  was  to  help  men  who 
from  lack  of  funds  could  not  obtain  an  education  for  themselves. 
These  have  been  supplied  not  only  with  tuition  and  books,  gratis, 
but  with  board  and  lodging,  and  in  some  cases  with  clothes  and 
pocket  money.  Some  very  successful  brethren  needed  everything, 
and  if  they  had  been  required  to  pay,  they  must  have  remained 
illiterate  preachers  to  this  day.  Still,  year  by  year,  the  number 
of  men  who  are  ready  to  support  themselves  in  whole  or  in  part 
has  increased,  and  I  believe  that  it  is  increasing  and  will  increase. 
As  a  college  we  have  had  to  struggle  with  a  repute  based  upon 
falsehood  and  created  by  jealousy;  but  this  has  not  injured  us  to 
any  great  extent;  for  men  come  to  us  from  America,  Australia, 
and  the  Cape,  and  applications  have  frequently  been  made  from 
foreign  countries.  German  students  have  attended  our  classes 
during  their  own  vacations,  and  members  of  other  colleges  are 
usually  to  be  seen  at  our  lectures.  The  institution  never  deserved 
to  be  charged  with  giving  a  mere  apology  for  an  education ;  and  if 
ever  that  reproach  could  have  been  justly  cast  upon  us,  it  is  utterly 
undeserved  now  that  the  time  of  study  has  become  more  extended, 
and  a  fuller  course  of  training  has  thus  become  possible.  Scholar- 
ship for  its  own  sake  was  never  sought  and  never  w^ill  be  within  the 
Pastors'  College ;  but  to  help  men  to  become  efficient  preachers 
has  been  and  ever  will  be  the  sole  aim  of  all  those  concerned  in 
its  management.  I  shall  not,  in  order  to  increase  our  prestige, 
refuse  poor  men,  or  zealous  young  Christians  whose  early  educa- 
tion has  been  neglected.  Pride  would  suggest  that  we  take  "  a 
better  class  of  men ;  "  but  experience  shows  that  they  are  not  bet- 
ter, that  eminently  useful  men  spring  from  all  ranks,  that  diamonds 
may  be  found  in  the  rough,  and  that  some  who  need  most  pains 
in  the  polishing,  reward  our  labor  a  thousandfold.  My  friends  will 
still  stand  by  me  in  my  desire  to  aid  the  needy  but  pious  brother, 
and  we  shall  rejoice  together  as  we  continually  see  the  ploughman, 
the   fisherman,  and  the  mechanic  taught  the  way  of  God  more 


l66  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

perfectly,  and  enabled  through  divine  grace  to  proclaim  in  the 
language  of  the  people  the  salvation  of  our  God. 

During  the  past  year  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  have 
been  with  us ;  but  as  some  have  come  and  others  have  gone,  the 
average  number  in  actual  residence  has  averaged  one  hundred. 
Of  these  a  few  have  been  with  us  three  years,  and  more  have 
entered  upon  the  third  year.  The  rule  is  that  a  man's  usual 
period  terminates  at  the  end  of  two  years,  and  his  remaining 
longer  depends  upon  the  judgment  formed  of  him.  Certain  men 
will  never  get  beyond  an  English  education,  and  to  detain  them 
from  their  work  is  to  repress  their  ardor  without  bestowing  a 
compensatory  advantage.  In  other  cases,  the  longer  the  period 
of  study  the  better.  Probably  the  third  year  is  to  many  a  stu- 
dent more  useful  than  the  other  two,  and  he  goes  forth  to  his 
life-work  more  thoroughly  prepared.  I  could  not  lengthen  the 
course  in  former  days,  when  churches  tempted  the  brethren 
away  before  the  proper  time,  as  they  too  often  did.  They  told 
these  raw  youths  that  it  was  a  pity  to  delay,  that  if  they  left  their 
studies  souls  might  be  saved,  and  I  know  not  what  besides ;  and 
some  were  induced  to  run  away,  as  Rowland  Hill  would  have  said, 
before  they  had  pulled  their  boots  on.  If  I  constrained  them  to 
remain,  the  good  deacons  of  the  eager  churches  thought  me  a 
sort  of  harsh  jailer,  who  locked  up  his  prisoners  and  would  not 
give  them  up  at  the  entreaty  of  their  friends.  One  wrote  and 
bade  me  loose  the  brother,  for  the  Lord  had  need  of  him,  and  I 
would  have  let  the  young  man  go  if  I  had  thought  that  he  was  one 
of  the  donkeys  to  whom  the  passage  referred.  That  a  number 
of  brethren  may  have  entered  upon  their  ministry  prematurely 
was  no  fault  of  mine,  but  of  those  who  tempted  them  to  quit 
their  classes  too  soon.  However,  there  have  been  periods  in 
which  there  is  a  lull  in  the  demand  of  the  churches  for  ministers, 
and  then  we  have  been  able  to  retain  the  men  for  a  longer  season. 
Such  a  time  is  passing  over  us  just  now,  and  I  do  not  regret  it, 
for  I  am  persuaded  it  is  good  to  give  the  brethren  a  longer  space 
for  preparatory  study. 

I  have  been  very  ill  through  the  greater  part  of  the  past  year, 
and  have  therefore  been  unable  to  give  so  much  personal  service 


PRESIDENT'S    REPORT,    I  88 1.  1 67 

to  the  College  as  I  have  usually  done.  This  has  been  a  sore 
trial  to  me,  but  it  has  been  much  alleviated  by  my  beloved 
brother,  J.  A.  Spurgeon,  the  vice-president,  who  has  looked  after 
everything  with  great  care ;  and  I  have  also  been  greatly  com- 
forted by  the  knowledge  that  the  tutors  are  as  deeply  concerned 
about  the  holy  service  as  ever  I  can  be.  It  has  been  my  joy  to 
learn  that  the  College  was  never  in  a  better  state  in  all  respects 
than  now,  and  that  the  men  under  training  give  promise  of  be- 
coming useful  preachers.  I  have  had  very  little  weeding  work 
to  do  on  my  coming  back  to  my  place,  and  those  whom  I  have 
removed  were  not  chargeable  with  any  fault,  but  their  capacity 
was  questioned  by  the  tutors.  All  through  the  year  this  painful 
operation  has  to  be  carried  on,  and  it  always  causes  me  much 
grief;  but  it  is  a  necessary  part  of  my  official  duty  as  president. 
Young  men  who  come  to  us  loaded  with  testimonials  are  occa- 
sionally found  after  a  while  to  be  lacking  in  application  or  in 
spiritual  power;  and  after  due  admonishment  and  trial  they  have 
to  be  sent  back  to  the  place  from  whence  they  came.  Others  are 
as  good  as  gold,  but  their  heads  ache,  and  their  health  fails  under 
hard  study,  or  from  lack  of  mental  capacity  they  cannot  master 
the  subjects  placed  before  them.  These  must  be  kindly  but  firmly 
set  aside ;  but  I  always  dread  the  task.  This  thinning-out  process 
is  done  with  conscientiousness,  under  the  guidance  of  the  tutors; 
but  this  year  there  has  been  little  need  of  it,  and  I  have  rejoiced 
in  the  fact,  since  frequent  depression  of  spirit  has  made  it  unde- 
sirable to  have  much  trying  work  to  do.  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
very  rarely  have  I  had  to  deal  with  a  case  of  moral  failure.  Bad 
young  men  have  crept  in  among  us,  and  no  men  are  perfect;  but 
I  have  great  comfort  in  seeing  the  earnest  and  prayerful  spirit 
which  has  prevailed  among  the  brotherhood. 

Foremost  among  our  aims  is  the  promotion  of  a  vigorous  spirit- 
ual life  among  those  who  are  preparing  to  be  under-shepherds 
of  Christ's  flock.  By  frequent  meetings  for  prayer,  and  by  other 
means,  we  labor  to  maintain  a  high  tone  of  spirituality,  I  have 
endeavored  in  my  lectures  and  addresses  to  stir  up  the  holy  fire ; 
for  well  I  know  that  if  the  heavenly  flame  burns  low,  nothing  else 
ivill  avail.     The  earnest  action  of  the  College  Missionary  Society 


l68  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

has  been  a  source  of  great  joy  to  me ;  for  above  all  things  I 
desire  to  see  many  students  devoting  themselves  to  foreign  work. 
The  Temj^erance  Society  also  does  a  good  work,  and  tends  to 
keep  alive  among  the  men  a  burning  hatred  of  England's  direst 
curse. 

We  need  the  daily  prayer  of  God's  people  that  much  grace  may 
be  with  all  concerned  in  this  important  business ;  for  what  can  we 
do  without  the  Holy  Spirit?  How  few  ever  pray  for  students! 
If  ministers  do  not  come  up  to  the  desired  standard,  may  not  the 
members  of  the  churches  rebuke  themselves  for  having  restrained 
prayer  on  their  account?  When  does  a  Christian  worker  more 
need  prayer  than  in  his  early  days,  when  his  character  is  forming 
and  his  heart  is  tenderly  susceptible  both  of  good  and  evil  influ- 
ences? I  would  beseech  all  who  have  power  with  God  to  remem- 
ber our  colleges  in  their  intercessions.  The  solemn  interests 
involved  in  the  condition  of  these  schools  of  the  prophets  compel 
me  to  entreat,  even  unto  tears,  that  the  hopeful  youth  of  our 
ministry  may  not  be  forgotten  in  the  supplications  of  the  saints. 
For  us  also,  who  have  the  responsible  duty  of  guiding  the  minds 
of  these  young  men,  much  prayer  is  requested,  that  we  may  have 
wisdom,  love,  gentleness,  firmness,  and  abounding  spiritual  power. 
It  is  not  every  man  who  can  usefully  influence  students,  nor  can 
the  same  men  have  equal  power  at  all  times.  The  Divine  Spirit 
is  needed,  and  He  is  given  to  them  that  ask  for  His  sacred 
teaching. 

In  Great  Britain  three  hundred  and  fifty-five  former  students 
are  preaching  the  Word,  some  in  the  more  prominent  pulpits  of 
the  denomination,  and  others  in  positions  where  their  patience 
and  self-denial  are  severely  tested  by  the  present  depression  in 
trade,  and  the  consequent  inability  of  rural  congregations  to 
furnish  them  with  adequate  support.  The  College  has  reason 
to  rejoice  not  only  in  the  success  of  her  most  honored  sons,  but 
in  the  faithfulness  and  perseverance  of  the  rank  and  file,  whose 
services,  although  they  are  little  noticed  on  earth,  will  receive  the 
"  well  done  "  of  the  Lord. 

This  institution  is  not  alone  a  College,  but  a  Home  and  Foreign 
Missionary   Society.      Our  three   evangelists    have    traversed   the 


PRESIDENT'S    REPORT,    1 88 1,  169 

land  with  great  diligence,  and  the  Lord  has  set  His  seal  to  their 
work. 

It  is  my  greatest  pleasure  to  aid  in  commencing  new  churches. 
The  oftener  brethren  can  create  their  own  spheres  the  more  glad 
shall  I  be.  Jt  is  not  needful  to  repeat  the  details  of  former 
reports ;  but  many  churches  have  been  founded  through  the 
College,  and  there  are  more  to  follow.  I  announced  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  enterprise  that  it  was  not  alone  for  the  education 
of  ministers,  but  for  the  general  spread  of  the  gospel;  and  this 
has  been  adhered  to,  a  part  of  the  income  being  always  expended 
in  that  direction. 

A  very  considerable  number  of  Pastors'  College  men  are  to 
be  found  at  the  Antipodes.  I  cannot  forget  that  there  I  have  a 
beloved  son ;  but  next  to  that  in  nearness  to  my  heart  is  the  fact 
that  so  many  of  my  spiritual  sons  are  there,  prospering  and  bring- 
ing glory  to  God.  It  was  with  no  little  delight  that  I  received 
the  following  letter  from  some  of  them.  Readers  must  kindly 
excuse  expressions  of  affection  which  are  so  natural  from  friends ; 
I  could  not  cut  them  out  without  destroying  the  spirit  of  the 
letter :  — 

Melbourne,  Victoria,  Nov.  2,  1880. 
Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

Honored  and  Beloved  President,  —  A  number  of  former 
students  of  the  College  being  met  together  at  this  metropolis  of 
the  Antipodes,  it  was  most  heartily  agreed  that  we  should  send 
you  an  expression  of  our  warm  love.  For  truly  we  can  say  that 
instead  of  distance  or  even  time  causing  any  abatement  of  love 
towards  you  personally,  or  towards  the  institution  which  we 
may  with  truth  style  our  Alma  Mater,  we  find  it  intensified  and 
hallowed. 

The  meetings  of  the  Victorian  Baptist  Association  are  now 
being  held  in  this  city,  which  has  brought  most  of  us  together ; 
but  the  Melbourne  Exhibition  has  brought  to  us  Brother  Harry 
Woods  from  South  Australia,  and  Brother  Harrison  from  Delo- 
raine,  Tasmania.  Our  Brother  A.  J.  Clarke's  house  is  the  ren- 
dezvous for  all  the  brethren,  and  the  cheery  hospitality  of  himself 


lyo  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

and  wife  prove  them  to  be  called  to  the  episcopate.  Though  all 
the  brethren,  so  far  as  we  know,  have  had  blessing  this  year,  some 
of  them  wonderfully  so,  yet  our  Brother  A.  J.  Clarke,  here  at 
West  Melbourne,  has  experienced  a  year  of  toil  and  harvesting 
in  which  we  all  rejoice,  and  which  exercises  a  stimulating  effect 
upon  all  who  hail  from  "  the  College." 

When  a  number  of  us  were  bowing  in  prayer  together,  we  felt 
how  thoroughly  you  would  have  been  with  us  in  spirit,  as  we 
prayed  that  we  might  oppose,  in  the  might  of  God,  the  awful 
world-spirit  of  this  region,  and  that  our  souls  might  be  kept 
wholly  loyal  to  King  Jesus,  having  no  "  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness." 

Finally,  beloved  servant  of  God,  we  hail  you  in  the  name  of  our 
Triune  Jehovah !  No  words  of  ours  can  express  our  personal 
obligation  to  you.  But  by  fidelity  to  Christ  and  to  truth,  by 
manifesting  that  we  have  caught  the  spirit  of  burning  love  to 
souls  which  burns  in  your  own  breast,  and  by  serving  to  our 
utmost  ability,  and  to  the  last  day  of  life,  in  the  kingdom  and 
patience  of  Jesus,  we  hope  to  show  that  all  your  care  and  that  of 
the  tutors  and  friends  of  the  Tabernacle  has  not  been  ill-bestowed. 
We  remain, 

Yours  in  the  bonds  of  eternal  love, 

Wm.  Christr.  Bunning,  Geelong. 

William  Clark,  Ballarat. 

Alfred  J.  Clarke,  West  Melbourne. 

H.  H.  Garrett,  Brighton. 

Henry  Marsden,  Kew. 

J.  S.  Harrison,  Deloraine,  Tasmania. 

Harry  Woods,  Saddleworth,  S.  Australia. 

F.  G.  Buckingham,  Melbourne. 

Similarly  in  Canada  the  Lord  has  been  with  those  who  have 
gone  from  the  College.  My  brother,  J.  A.  Spurgeon,  during  his 
visit  to  Canada,  formed  a  branch  of  our  Conference  there,  and 
from  it  the  annexed  loving  epistle  has  lately  come. 


president's  report,  1 88 1.  171 

567  York  Street,  London,  East  Ontario, 
Canada,  April  6,  1881. 

Beloved  President,  —  We,  the  members  of  the  Canadian 
branch  of  the  Pastors'  College  Brotherhood,  herewith  greet  you 
lovingly  (and  our  brethren  through  you)  on  the  occasion  of  your 
Annual  Conference,  which  we  hope  may  surpass  even  the  best  of 
by-gone  gatherings,  in  all  holy  joy  and  such  spiritual  refreshing  as 
may  fit  all  for  more  abundant  service. 

Need  we  say  how  deeply  we  feel  for  all  the  sufferings  by  which 
our  President  is  made  to  serve,  the  while  we  gratefully  recognize 
"  the  peaceable  fruit  "  of  those  sufferings  in  such  enriched  utter- 
ances as  we  have  lately  read?  We  love  our  dear  President  as  of 
yore,  remembering  days  of  prayerful  tryst  in  which  we  heard  him 
sigh  and  groan  his  longings  for  our  course. 

During  another  year  we  have  been  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God," 
and  used  in  service ;  and  although  we  are  in  some  cases  separated 
even  here  by  many  dreary  miles  of  continent,  we  still  hold  and  are 
held  to  and  by  the  old-day  kindness;  and,  better  still,  "  the  form 
of  sound  words." 

We  "  shake  hands  across  the  vast,"  loved  President  and  brethren, 
and  wish  you  every  joy  in  Conference. 

For  the  Canadian  Brethren, 

Yours  affectionately, 

Joseph  Forth, 
President  for  1881   of  the  Canadian  Branch  of  the 
Pastors'  College  Brotherhood. 

A  point  of  great  interest,  to  which  I  hope  the  Lord  may  turn 
the  attention  of  many  of  His  servants,  is  that  of  English  evangel- 
ists for  India.  Mr.  Gregson,  the  well-known  missionary,  has  urged 
upon  me  the  great  utility  of  sending  out  young  men  who  should 
preach  the  gospel  to  those  in  India  who  understand  the  English 
language,  whether  British,  Eurasian,  or  educated  Hindoo.  He 
advises  that  the  men  should  be  sent  out  for  five  years,  and  there- 
fore be  subjected  to  no  remark  should  they  return  at  the  end  of 
that  period.  He  thinks  it  probable  that  they  would  acquire  a  lan- 
guage and  remain  abroad  as  missionaries ;   but  if  not,  they  would 


172  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

be  missionary-advocates  on  their  return  home,  and  arouse  among 
our  churches  fresh  enthusiasm.  It  is  beheved  that  in  many  cities 
churches  could  be  gathered  which  would  support  these  men  as 
their  ministers,  or  that  at  least  a  portion  of  their  expenses  would 
be  found  on  the  spot.  I  have  determined  to  enter  upon  this  field 
as  God  shall  help  me;  and  Mr.  H.  R.  Brown,  who  has  been  for 
years  the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Shooter's  Hill,  has  reached  Cal- 
cutta, on  his  way  to  Darjeeling  in  the  hill  country.  If  the  Lord 
shall  prosper  him  there,  I  hope  he  will  live  long  in  that  salubrious 
region,  build  up  a  church,  and  become  the  pioneer  of  a  little  band 
of  evangelists.  Our  native  tongue  is  sure  to  spread  among  the 
educated  Hindoos,  and  hence  many  a  heathen  may  be  brought  to 
Jesus  by  evangelists  who  do  not  understand  any  of  the  languages 
of  the  East;  and  meanwhile  our  countrymen,  too  often  irreligious, 
may  be  met  with  by  divine  grace,  and  find  Christ  where  the  most 
forget  Him.  I  hope  many  fnends  wiW  take  an  interest  in  this  effort, 
and  assist  me  to  carry  it  out. 

Funds  have  come  in  as  they  have  been  needed;  but  apart  from 
a  legacy,  now  nearly  consumed,  the  ordinary  income  has  not  been 
equal  to  the  expenditure  of  the  year.  The  balance  at  the  banker's 
is  gradually  disappearing;  but  I  do  not  mention  this  with  any 
regret,  for  He  who  has  sent  us  supplies  hitherto  will  continue  His 
bounty,  and  He  will  move  His  stewards  to  see  that  this  work  is  not 
allowed  to  flag  from  want  of  the  silver  and  the  gold.  With  a  sin- 
gle eye  to  His  glory  I  have  borne  this  burden  hitherto,  and  found 
it  light;  and  I  am  persuaded  from  past  experience  that  He  will 
continue  to  keep  this  work  going  so  long  as  it  is  a  blessing  to  His 
Church  and  to  the  world.  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  the  generous 
donors  at  the  annual  supper,  and  quite  as  much  to  the  smaller 
weekly  gifts  of  my  own  beloved  congregation,  which,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, have  made  up  the  noble  sum  of  $9,100.  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  a  considerable  legacy  left  to  the  College  will  in  all  probability 
be  lost  through  the  law  of  mortmain.  This  is  a  great  disappoint- 
ment;  but  if  one  door  is  shut  another  will  be  opened. 

Into  the  hands  of  Him  who  worketh  all  our  works  in  us  we 
commit  the  Pastors'  College  for  another  year. 


XIV. 


INAUGURAL    ADDRESS 


We  are  not  wide  enough  awake  in  doing  good.  Pardon  the  reference  for 
the  sake  of  the  lesson  ;  it  shall  be  borrowed  from  Dr.  Marigold's  cart.  When 
a  cheap-jack  has  a  little  knot  of  people  round  his  van,  he  eyes  them  all,  and 
feels  sure  that  the  man  who  is  standing  over  there  is  a  butcher,  and  that  3onder 
young  lad  has  more  money  than  brains,  and  that  the  girl  near  him  is  out  with 
her  sweetheart  and  is  soon  to  be  married  ;  now,  mark,  he  will  hold  up  the  exact 
articles  which  are  likely  to  attract  these  customers,  and  in  his  harangue  he  will 
have  jokes  and  telling  sentences  which  will  turn  butcher  and  lad  and  lass  into 
purchasers.  He  cares  not  a  jot  for  elegance,  but  very  much  for  force.  He 
knows  that  his  trade  will  be  better  pushed  by  homely  remarks  and  cutting  sen- 
tences than  by  the  prosiest  prettinesses  which  were  ever  delivered  ;  and  he  gains 
his  end,  which  is  more  than  those  of  you  will  do  who  talk  to  people  about  their 
souls  with  as  much  richness  of  diction  as  — 

"  The  girl  who  at  each  pretty  phrase  let  drop 
A  ruby  comma,  or  pearl  ftill-stop, 
Or  an  emerald  semicolon." 

C.   H.  Spurgeon. 


INAUGURAL    ADDRESS. 


IT  is  presumed  that  many  students  and  ministers  will  read  this 
book.  To  such  we  specially  commend  the  following  address, 
delivered  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  his  present  and  former  students. 
Because  of  its  intrinsic  merits,  its  stirring  appeals,  and  its  sen- 
sible presentation  of  vital  themes,  we  could  not  bring  our  mind 
to  consent  to  an  abridgment.  It  is  suitable  for  all  Christian 
workers,  nor  can  it  fail  to  interest  the  general  reader.  Reading  it 
originally,  and  again  in  proof,  it  has  stirred  our  soul,  and  breathed 
upon  us  a  benediction. 

I  never  needed  help  more  than  now,  and  never  felt  so  utterly 
unfitted  to  give  the  key-note  to  the  Conference.  As  you  grow 
more  numerous,  more  gifted,  and  more  experienced,  I  feel  more 
and  more  my  unworthiness  to  stand  foremost  and  lead  your 
ranks.  However,  I  will  trust  in  God,  and  believe  that  He  will, 
by  His  Holy  Spirit,  send  a  word  that  shall  be  encouraging  and 
quickening. 

Years  ago  an  eccentric  judge,  known  as  Judge  Foster,  went 
upon  circuit  in  extreme  old  age  during  a  very  hot  summer,  and 
on  one  of  the  most  sultry  days  of  that  summer  he  addressed  the 
grand  jury  at  Worcester  in  some  such  terms  as  these:  "Gentle- 
men of  the  jury,  it  is  very  hot,  and  I  am  very  old;  you  know 
your  duties  very  well;  go  and  do  them."  Following  his  example, 
I  feel  inclined  to  say  to  you :  "  Gentlemen,  here  you  are  assem- 
bled. I  have  many  infirmities  to  bear,  and  you  will  have  great 
difficulty  in  bearing  with  my  talk ;   you   know  your  duties ;   go  and 


176  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

do  them."  Action  is  better  than  speech.  If  I  speak  for  an  hour 
I  shall  scarcely  be  able  to  say  anything  more  practical,  —  you 
know  your  duties,  go  and  do  them.  "  England  expects  every 
man  to  do  his  duty "  was  the  rousing  signal  of  Nelson ;  need  I 
remind  you  that  our  great  Lord  expects  every  one  of  His  servants 
to  occupy  until  He  comes,  and  so  to  be  a  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant? Go  forth  and  fulfil  your  Master's  high  behest,  and  may 
God's  Spirit  work  in  you  the  good  pleasure  of  your  Lord, 

Those  who  truly  serve  God  are  made  to  feel  more  and  more 
forcibly  that  "  Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest,"  if  it  be  indeed  life  in 
Christ.  In  times  of  great  pain  and  weakness  and  depression  it 
has  come  over  me  to  hope  that  if  I  should  again  recover  I  should 
be  more  intense  than  ever;  if  I  could  be  privileged  to  climb  the 
pulpit  stairs  again,  I  resolved  to  leave  out  every  bit  of  flourish 
from  my  sermons,  preach  nothing  but  present  and  pressing  truth, 
and  hurl  it  at  the  people  with  all  my  might;  myself  living  at  high 
pressure,  and  putting  forth  all  the  energy  that  my  being  is  capable 
of  I  suppose  you,  too,  have  felt  like  this  when  you  have  been 
laid  aside.  You  have  said  to  yourselves :  "  Playtime  is  over  with 
us,  we  must  get  to  work.  Parade  is  ended,  now  comes  the  tug  of 
war.  We  must  not  waste  a  single  moment,  but  redeem  the  time, 
because  the  days  are  evil."  When  we  see  the  wonderful  activity 
of  the  servants  of  Satan,  and  how  much  they  accomplish,  we  may 
well  be  ashamed  of  ourselves  that  we  do  so  little  for  our  Redeemer, 
and  that  the  little  is  often  done  so  badly  that  it  takes  as  long  to  set 
it  right  as  we  spent  in  the  doing  of  it.  Brethren,  let  us  cease  from 
regrets,  and  come  to  actual  amendment. 

A  great  German  philosopher  has  asserted  that  life  is  all  a  dream. 
He  says  that  "  It  is  a  dream  composed  of  a  dream  of  itself"  He 
believes  in  no  actual  existence,  not  even  in  his  own  ;  even  that  he 
conceives  to  be  but  a  thought.  Surely  some  in  the  ministry  must 
be  disciples  of  that  philosophy,  for  they  are  half  asleep,  and  their 
spirit  is  dreamy.  They  speak  of  the  eternal  truth  as  though  it 
were  a  temporary  system  of  belief,  passing  away  like  all  other 
visions  of  earth.  They  live  for  Christ  in  a  manner  which  would 
never  be  thought  of  by  a  person  who  meant  to  make  money,  or 
to  obtain  a  degree  at  the  university.     "  Why,"  said  one  of  a  cer- 


INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  1 77 

tain  minister,  "  if  I  acted  with  my  business  as  he  does  in  his  min- 
istry I  should  be  in  the  '  Gazette '  within  three  months."  It  is  an 
unhappy  thing  that  there  should  be  men  calling  themselves  min- 
isters of  Christ  to  whom  it  never  seems  to  occur  that  they  are 
bound  to  display  the  utmost  industry  and  zeal.  They  seem  to 
forget  that  they  are  dealing  with  souls  that  may  be  lost  for  ever 
or  saved  for  ever,  —  souls  that  cost  the  Saviour's  heart's  blood. 
They  do  not  appear  to  have  understood  the  nature  of  their  calling, 
or  to  have  grasped  the  Scriptural  idea  of  an  ambassador  for  Christ. 
Like  drowsy  wagoners,  they  hope  to  get  their  team  safely  home, 
though  they  themselves  are  sound  asleep.  I  have  heard  of  min- 
isters who  are  most  lively  when  playing  croquet  or  cricket,  or 
getting  up  an  excursion,  or  making  a  bargain.  It  was  said  of  one 
in  my  hearing,  "  What  a  fine  minister  he  would  have  been  if  he 
had  only  been  converted."  I  heard  it  said  of  a  very  clever  man, 
"  He  would  have  been  a  great  winner  of  souls  if  he  had  only 
believed  in  souls ;  but  he  believed  in  nothing."  It  is  said  of  the 
Russian  peasants,  that  when  they  have  done  their  work  they  will 
lie  on  the  stove,  or  around  it,  and  there  sleep  hour  after  hour; 
and  there  is  a  current  opinion  among  them  that  they  are  only 
awake  when  they  are  asleep,  and  that  their  waking  and  working 
hours  are  nothing  but  a  horrible  dream.  The  moujik  hopes  that 
his  dreams  are  facts,  and  that  his  waking  sufferings  are  merely 
nightmares.  May  not  some  have  fallen  into  the  same  notion  with 
regard  to  the  ministry?  They  are  asleep  upon  realities,  and  awake 
about  shadows ;  in  earnest  about  trifles,  yet  trifling  about  solem- 
nities. What  God  will  have  to  say  to  those  servants  who  do  their 
own  work  well  and  His  work  badly  I  will  not  attempt  to  fore- 
shadow. What  shall  be  done  to  the  man  who  displayed  great 
capacity  in  his  recreations,  but  was  dull  in  his  devotions?  active 
out  of  his  calling,  and  languid  in  it?  The  day  shall  declare  it. 
Let  us  arouse  ourselves  to  the  sternest  fidelity,  laboring  to  win 
souls  as  much  as  if  it  all  depended  wholly  upon  ourselves,  while 
we  fall  back  in  faith  upon  the  glorious  fact  that  everything  rests 
with  the  eternal  God. 

I  see  before  me  many  who  are  fully  aroused,  and  are  eager  in 
seeking  the  lost;   for  I  speak  to  some  of  the  most  earnest  spirits 

12 


178  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

in  the  Christian  Church,  —  evangelists  and  pastors  whose  meat 
and  drink  it  is  to  do  the  will  of  their  Lord.  But  even  these,  who 
are  most  awake,  will  not  differ  from  me  when  I  assert  that  they 
could  be  yet  more  aroused.  My  brethren,  when  you  have  been 
at  your  best  you  might  have  been  better.  Who  among  us  might 
not  have  had  greater  success  if  he  had  been  ready  to  obtain  it? 
When  Nelson  served  under  Admiral  Hotham,  and  a  certain  num- 
ber of  the  enemy's  ships  had  been  captured,  the  commander  said : 
"We  must  be  contented  ;  we  have  done  very  well."  But  Nelson  did 
not  think  so,  since  a  number  of  the  enemy's  vessels  had  escaped. 
"  Now,"  said  he,  "  had  we  taken  ten  sail,  and  allowed  the  eleventh 
to  escape  when  it  had  been  possible  to  have  got  at  her,  I  could 
never  have  called  it  well  done!'  If  we  have  brought  many  to 
Christ  we  dare  not  boast,  for  we  are  humbled  by  the  reflection 
that  more  might  have  been  done  had  we  been  fitter  instruments 
for  God.  Possibly  some  brother  will  say,  "  I  have  done  all  that 
I  could  do."  That  may  be  his  honest  opinion,  for  he  could  not 
have  preached  more  frequently,  or  held  more  meetings.  Perhaps 
it  is  true  that  he  has  held  enough  meetings,  and  the  people 
have  had  quite  enough  sermons;  but  there  might  have  been  an 
improvement  in  the  spirit  of  the  meetings,  and  in  the  sermons 
too.  Some  ministers  might  do  more  in  reality  if  they  did  less  in 
appearance.  A  Bristol  Quaker  —  and  Quakers  are  very  shrewd 
men  —  years  ago  stepped  into  an  alehouse  and  called  for  a  quart 
of  beer.  The  beer  frothed  up,  and  the  measure  was  not  well 
filled.  The  Friend  said  to  the  landlord,  "  How  much  trade  art 
thou  doing?"  "Oh,"  he  answered,  "I  draw  ten  butts  of  beer  a 
month."  "Do  thee  know  how  thee  might  draw  eleven  butts?" 
"No,  sir;  I  wish  I  did."  "I  will  tell  thee,  friend;  thee  can  do 
it  by  filling  thy  pots."  To  any  brother  who  says,  "  I  do  not  know 
how  I  can  preach  more  gospel  than  I  do,  for  I  preach  very  often," 
I  would  reply,  "  You  need  not  preach  oftener,  but  fill  the  sermons 
fuller  of  gospel."  The  Saviour  at  the  marriage-feast  said :  "  Fill 
the  water-pots  with  water."  Let  us  imitate  the  servants,  of  whom 
we  read,  "  They  filled  them  up  to  the  brim."  Let  your  discourses 
be  full  of  matter,  sound,  gracious,  and  condensed.  Certain  speakers 
suffer  from  an  awful  flux  of  words ;   you  can  scarcely  spy  out  the 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS.  1 79 

poor  little  straw  of  an  idea  which  has  been  hurried  down  an  awful 
Ganges  or  Amazon  of  words.  Give  the  people  plenty  of  thought, 
plenty  of  Scriptural,  solid  doctrine,  and  deliver  it  in  a  way  which 
is  growingly  better,  —  every  day  better,  every  year  better,  that 
God  may  be  more  glorified,  and  sinners  may  more  readily  learn 
the  way  of  salvation. 

I  shall  now  commend  to  you  for  the  perfecting  of  your  min- 
istry five  things,  which  should  be  in  you  and  abound.  You 
remember  the  passage  which  says,  "  Salt,  without  prescribing  how 
much."  There  is  no  need  for  limiting  the  quantity  of  any  of  the 
matters  now  commended  to  you.  Here  they  are,  —  light,  fire, 
faitJi,  life,  love.  Their  number  is  five,  you  may  count  them  on 
your  fingers ;  their  value  is  inestimable,  grasp  them  with  firm 
hand,  and  let  them  be  carried  in  your  hearts. 

I  commend  to  you  most  earnestly  the  acquisition  and  distribu- 
tion of  light.  To  that  end  we  must  first  get  the  light.  Get  light 
even  of  the  commonest  order,  for  all  light  is  good.  Education 
upon  ordinary  things  is  valuable,  and  I  would  stir  up  certain 
loitering  brethren  to  make  advances  in  that  direction.  Many 
among  you  entered  the  College  with  no  education  whatever ;  but 
when  you  left  it  you  had  learned  enough  to  have  formed  the 
resolution  to  study  with  all  your  might,  and  you  have  carried  it 
out.  I  wish  that  all  had  done  so.  It  is  a  great  advantage  to  a 
minister  to  commence  his  public  life  in  a  small  village  w^iere  he 
can  have  time  and  quiet  for  steady  reading:  that  man  is  wise  who 
avails  himself  of  the  golden  opportunity.  We  ought  not  only  to 
think  of  what  we  can  now  do  for  God,  but  of  what  we  may  yet 
be  able  to  do  if  we  improve  ourselves.  No  man  should  ever 
dream  that  his  education  is  complete.  I  know  that  my  friend  Mr. 
Rogers,  though  he  has  passed  his  eightieth  year,  is  still  a  student, 
and  perhaps  has  more  of  the  true  student  spirit  about  him  now 
than  ever:  will  any  of  the  younger  sort  sit  down  in  self-content? 
We  shall  continue  to  learn  even  in  heaven,  and  shall  still  be 
looking  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  abyss  of  divine  love :  it  were 
ill  to  talk  of  perfect  knowledge  here  below.  If  a  man  says:  "I 
am  fully  equipped  for  my  work,  and  need  learn  no  more ;  I  have 
moved  here  after  having  been  three  years  in  the  last  place,  and 


l80  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

I  have  quite  a  stock  of  sermons,  so  that  I  am  under  no  necessity 
to  read  any  more,"  I  would  say  to  him  :  "  My  dear  friend,  the 
Lord  give  you  brains,  for  you  talk  like  one  who  is  deficient  in  that 
department."  A  brain  is  a  very  hungry  thing  indeed,  and  he  who 
possesses  it  must  constantly  feed  it  by  reading  and  thinking,  or 
it  will  shrivel  up  or  fall  asleep.  It  is  the  child  of  the  horse-leech, 
and  it  crieth  evermore,  "  Give,  give."  Do  not  starve  it.  If  such 
mind-hunger  never  happens  to  you,  I  suspect  you  have  no  mind 
of  any  consequence. 

But,  brethren,  see  to  it  that  you  have  in  a  sevenfold  degree  light 
of  a  higher  kind.  You  are  to  be,  above  all  things,  students  of  the 
Word  of  God  :  this,  indeed,  is  a  main  point  of  your  avocation. 
If  we  do  not  study  Scripture,  and  those  books  that  will  help  us 
to  understand  theology,  we  are  but  wasting  time  while  we  pursue 
other  researches.  We  should  judge  him  to  be  a  foolish  fellow 
who,  while  preparing  to  be  a  physician,  spent  all  his  time  in 
studying  astronomy.  There  is  a  connection  of  some  kind  between 
stars  and  human  bones ;  but  a  man  could  not  learn  much  of 
surgery  from  Arcturus  or  Orion.  So  there  is  a  connection 
between  every  science  and  religion,  and  I  would  advise  you  to 
obtain  much  general  knowledge ;  but  universal  information  will 
be  a  poor  substitute  for  a  special  and  prayerful  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  the  doctrines  contained  in  the  revelation  of 
God.  We  are  to  study  men  and  our  own  hearts ;  we  ought  to  sit 
as  disciples  in  the  schools  of  providence  and  experience.  Some 
ministers  grow  fast  because  the  great  Teacher  chastens  them 
sorely,  and  the  chastening  is  sanctified  ;  but  others  learn  nothing 
by  their  experience,  they  blunder  out  of  one  ditch  into  another, 
and  learn  nothing  by  their  difficulties  but  the  art  of  creating  fresh 
ones.  I  suggest  to  you  all  the  prayer  of  a  Puritan  who  during 
a  debate  was  observed  to  be  absorbed  in  writing.  His  friends 
thought  he  was  taking  notes  of  his  opponent's  speech,  but  when 
they  got  hold  of  his  paper,  they  found  nothing  but  these  words, 
"  More  light,  Lord  !  More  light,  Lord  !  "  Oh,  for  more  light 
from  the  great  Father  of  lights  ! 

Let  not  this  light  be  only  that  of  knowledge,  but  seek  for  the 
ligJit  of  joy  and  cheerfitlness.     There  is  power  in  a  happy  ministry. 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  l8l 

A  lugubrious  face,  a  mournful  voice,  a  languor  of  manner,  —  none 
of  these  commend  us  to  our  hearers ;  especially  do  they  fail  to 
attract  the  young.  Certain  strange  minds  find  their  happiness  in 
misery,  but  they  are  not  numerous.  I  once  had  a  letter  from  one 
who  told  me  that  he  came  to  the  Tabernacle,  but  as  soon  as  he 
entered  he  felt  it  could  not  be  the  house  of  God  because  there 
were  so  many  present,  and  "  Strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow  is  the 
way  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  When 
he  looked  at  me  he  felt  sure  that  I  was  unsound,  for  I  should 
not  look  so  cheerful  in  the  face,  neither  should  I  be  so  bulky  in 
person,  if  I  belonged  to  the  tried  people  of  God.  Worst  of  all, 
when  he  looked  rotmd  upon  the  congregation  and  saw  their  happy 
countenances,  he  said  to  himself:  These  people  know  nothing  about 
the  depravity  of  their  hearts  or  the  inward  struggles  of  believers. 
Then  he  informed  me  that  he  wended  his  way  to  a  very  small 
chapel,  where  he  saw  a  minister  who  looked  as  if  he  had  been  in 
the  furnace,  and  though  there  were  but  eight  persons  present, 
they  all  looked  so  depressed  that  he  felt  quite  at  home.  I  sup- 
pose he  sat  down  and  sang :  — 

"  My  willing  soul  would  stay 
In  such  a  frame  as  this, 
And  sit  and  sing  herself  away 
From  everything  like  bliss." 

I  felt  glad  that  the  good  man  was  enabled  to, enjoy  a  little 
comfortable  misery  with  his  brethren.  I  did  not  feel  at  all 
envious ;  nor  do  I  think  that  such  a  ministry  of  misery  will  ever 
draw  to  itself  a  number  that  no  man  can  number.  The  children 
of  light  prefer  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  for  they  find  it  to  be  their 
strength. 

Get  plenty  of  light,  brethren,  and  7vJien  you  have  obtained  it 
give  it  out.  Never  fall  into  the  notion  that  mere  earnestness  will 
suffice  without  knowledge,  and  that  souls  are  to  be  saved  simply 
by  our  being  zealous.  T  fear  that  we  are  more  deficient  in  heat 
than  in  light;  but  at  the  same  time,  that  kind  of  fire  which  has 
no  light  in  it  is  of  a  very  doubtful  nature,  and  cometh  not  from 
above.     Souls  are  saved  by  truth  which  enters  the  understanding, 


1 82  l-IFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

and  so  reaches  the  conscience.  How  can  the  gospel  save  when 
it  is  not  understood?  The  preacher  may  preach  with  a  great  deal 
of  stamping,  and  hammering,  and  crying,  and  entreating;  but 
the  Lord  is  not  in  the  wind,  nor  in  the  fire :  the  still  small  voice 
of  truth  is  needed  to  enter  the  understanding,  and  thereby  reach 
the  heart.  People  must  be  taught.  We  must  "  go  and  teach  all 
nations,"  making  disciples  of  them;  and  I  know  of  no  way  in 
which  you  can  save  men  without  teaching  on  your  part  and  dis- 
cipleship  on  theirs.  Some  preachers,  though  they  know  a  great 
deal,  do  not  teach  much,  because  they  use  such  an  involved  style. 
Recollect  that  you  are  addressing  people  who  need  to  be  taught 
like  children  ;  for  though  they  are  grown  up,  the  major  part  of 
our  hearers,  as  to  the  things  of  God,  are  still  in  a  state  of  child- 
hood ;  and  if  they  are  to  receive  the  truth  it  must  be  made  very 
plain,  and  packed  up  so  as  to  be  carried  away  and  laid  up  in  the 
memory.     Therefore,  brethren,  give  forth  much  holy  instruction. 

Some  give  little  instruction  because  of  their  involved  style ;  but 
many  fail  for  other  reasons,  —  mainly  because  they  aim  at  some- 
thing else.  Talleyrand  defines  a  metaphysician  as  a  man  who  is 
very  clever  in  drawing  black  lines  upon  a  black  ground.  I  should 
like  to  draw  black  lines  upon  a  white  ground,  or  else  white  lines 
on  a  black  ground,  so  that  they  could  be  seen ;  but  certain 
preachers  are  so  profound  that  no  one  understands  them.  (3n  the 
other  hand,  have  you  not  heard  sermons  with  great  oratorical 
display  about  them,  and  nothing  more?  You  have  looked  on 
while  the  angel  wrought  wondrously.  The  preacher  has  been  like 
Blondin  on  the  tight-rope,  and  as  we  have  looked  at  him  we  have 
trembled  lest  he  should  never  reach  the  end  of  his  lofty  period. 
Yet  he  has  balanced  himself  admirably,  and  moved  along  in  his 
elevated  position  in  a  marvellous  manner.  When  all  is  over  your 
mind  is  unsatisfied;  for  these  acrobatic  feats  of  rhetoric  do  not 
feast  the  soul.  Brethren,  we  must  not  make  it  our  aim  to  be 
grand  orators.  Certain  men  are  eloquent  by  nature,  and  it  is  not 
possible  for  them  to  be  otherwise  than  oratorical,  any  more  than 
for  nightingales  to  help  singing  sweetly:  these  I  do  not  blame, 
but  admire.  It  is  not  the  duty  of  the  nightingale  to  bring 
down    its  voice   to  the  same  tone  as  that  of  the   sparrow.    ■  Let 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    1881.  I83 

it  sing  sweetly  if  it  can  do  so  naturally.  God  deserves  the  best 
oratory,  the  best  logic,  the  best  metaphysics,  the  best  of  every- 
thing; but  if  ever  rhetoric  stands  in  the  way  of  the  instruction 
of  the  people,  a  curse  on  rhetoric ;  if  any  educational  attainment 
or  natural  gift  which  we  possess  should  make  it  less  easy  for  the 
people  to  understand  us,  let  it  perish.  May  God  rend  away  from 
our  thought  and  style  everything  which  darkens  the  light,  even 
though  it  should  be  like  a  costly  veil  of  rarest  lace.  May  we 
use  great  plainness  of  speech,  that  gospel  light  may  shine  out 
clearly. 

At  this  time  there  is  a  great  necessity  for  giving  much  light,  for 
a  fierce  attempt  is  being  made  to  queue  J l  or  dim  the  light.  Many 
are  scattering  darkness  on  all  sides.  Therefore,  brethren,  keep  the 
light  burning  in  your  churches,  keep  the  light  burning  in  your 
pulpits,  and  hold  it  forth  in  the  face  of  men  who  love  darkness 
because  it  favors  their  aims.  Teach  the  people  all  truth,  and  let 
not  our  distinctive  opinions  be  concealed.  There  are  sheep- 
stealers  about,  who  come  forth  in  the  night,  and  run  away  with 
our  people  because  they  do  not  know  our  principles,  —  the  prin- 
ciples of  Nonconformists,  the  principles  of  Baptists,  or  even  the 
principles  of  Christianity.  Our  hearers  have  got  a  general  idea 
of  these  things,  but  not  enough  to  protect  them  from  deceivers. 
VVe  are  beset  not  only  by  sceptics,  but  by  certain  brethren  who 
devour  the  feeble.  Do  not  leave  your  children  to  wander  out 
without  the  guardianship  of  holy  knowledge,  for  there  are  seducers 
abroad  who  will  mislead  them  if  they  can.  They  will  begin  by 
calling  them  "dear"  this,  and  "dear"  that,  and  end  by  alienating 
them  from  those  who  brought  them  to  Jesus.  If  you  lose  your 
members,  let  it  be  in  the  light  of  day,  and  not  through  their  igno- 
rance. These  kidnappers  dazzle  weak  eyes  with  flashes  of  novclt}% 
and  turn  weak  heads  with  wonderful  discoveries  and  marvellous 
doctrines,  which  all  tend  towards  division  and  bitterness,  and  the 
exaltation  of  their  own  sect.  Keep  the  light  of  truth  burning,  and 
thieves  will  not  dare  to  plunder  your  house. 

Oh,  for  a  church  of  believers  in  Jesus  who  know  why  they  believe 
in  Him ;  persons  who  believe  the  Bible,  and  know  what  it  contains ; 
who  believe  the  doctrines  of  grace,  and  know  the  bearings  of  those 


1 84  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    11.    STURGEON. 

truths ;  who  know  where  they  are  and  what  they  are,  and  who 
therefore  dwell  in  the  light,  and  cannot  be  deceived  by  the  prince 
of  darkness.  Do,  dear  friends,  —  I  speak  specially  to  the  younger 
sort  among  us,  —  do  let  there  be  plenty  of  teaching  in  your  min- 
istry. I  fear  that  sermons  are  too  often  judged  by  their  words 
rather  than  by  their  sense.  Let  it  not  be  so  with  you.  Feed  the 
people  always  with  knowledge  and  understanding,  and  let  your 
preaching  be  solid,  containing  food  for  the  hungry,  healing  for 
the  sick,  and  light  for  those  who  sit  in  darkness. 

I  have  now,  in  the  second  place,  to  plead  with  you  that  you 
gather  and  use  in  your  ministry  much  heavenly  FIRE.  Upon 
this  subject  you  will  perhaps  expect  me  to  speak  guardedly; 
for  you  have  seen  the  mischief  of  wild  fire,  and  the  perils  of 
strange  fire,  and  perhaps  you  are  anxious  to  know  what  I  think 
of  a  certain  "army"  which  abounds  in  fire,  and  blazes  away  most 
marvellously.  I  shall  express  no  opinion,  except  that  none  of 
the  supposed  evils  of  fire  are  equal  to  those  of  lukewarmness. 
Even  fanaticism  is  to  be  preferred  to  indiff"erence.  I  had  sooner 
risk  the  dangers  of  a  tornado  of  religious  excitement  than  see  the 
air  grow  stagnant  with  a  dead  formality.  It  is  far  better  for  people 
to  be  too  hot  than  to  be  lukewarm.  "  I  w'ould  thou  wert  cold  or 
hot "  is  Christ's  word  still,  and  it  applies  to  preachers  as  well  as  to 
others.  When  a  man  is  freezingly  cold  in  the  things  of  Christ  we 
know  where  he  is ;  and  if  another  is  red-hot,  or  even  at  a  white 
heat,  and  is  thought  to  be  too  enthusiastic,  we  know  where  he  is; 
but  when  a  minister  preaches  in  such  a  way  that  at  the  close  of 
his  sermon  you  say,  "  this  is  neither  cold  nor  hot,"  you  go  away 
feeling  that  you  have  had  enough,  or  even  too  much  of  it.  There 
was  nothing  to  excite  you  ;  you  could  almost  wish  to  have  been 
made  angry  rather  than  to  have  been  lulled  by  such  discoursing. 
A  lukewarm  sermon  sickens  every  healthy  mind. 

Nor  is  this  evil  to  be  found  in  the  pulpit  alone.  I  should 
gravely  question  whether  if  an  angel  were  to  take  a  thermometer 
and  go  round  the  dissenting  churches  in  London  he  would  not 
find  a  large  proportion  of  them  certainly  not  cold,  most  decidedly 
not  hot,  but  somewhere  else.  How  is  it  with  you,  dear  brother? 
Do  you  say:    "Well,  I  am  not  the  warmest  of  all,  but  then  I  am 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    1 88 1.  1 85 

not  the  coldest  of  all"?  Then  I  have  a  suspicion  as  to  your 
temperature;  but  I  leave  the  matter  to  your  own  judgment,  only 
remarking  that  I  have  never  yet  met  with  fire  that  is  moderately 
hot.  Should  any  of  you  discover  such  an  article  you  will  be  wise 
to  patent  the  article,  for  it  might  be  of  service  in  many  ways. 
The  fire  with  which  I  have  been  acquainted  has  been  such  that 
I  have  never  given  it  my  hand  without  remembering  its  warm  em- 
brace. Fire  is  incorrigible  in  the  matter  of  carrying  matters  very 
far :  moderation  it  will  never  learn.  I  am  told  that  it  is  wrong  to 
go  to  extremes,  and  upon  that  ground  fire  is  certainly  guilty ;  for 
it  is  not  only  intensely  hot,  but  it  has  a  tendency  to  consume  and 
destroy  without  limit.  When  it  once  commenced  with  this  city  in 
the  olden  time  it  left  little  of  it  but  ashes ;  there  is  no  keeping  it 
within  bounds.  May  God  grant  us  grace  to  go  to  extremes  in  His 
service !  May  we  be  filled  with  an  unrestrainable  zeal  for  His 
glory !  May  the  Lord  answer  us  by  fire,  and  may  that  fire  fall 
on  the  ministers  and  then  upon  the  people  !  We  ask  for  the  true 
Pentecostal  flame,  and  not  for  sparks  kindled  by  human  passion. 
A  live  coal  from  off  the  altar  is  our  need,  and  nothing  can  supply 
its  place ;   but  this  we  must  have,  or  our  ministry  will  be  in  vain. 

Brethren,  we  must  first  of  all  take  care  that  we  have  the  Jire  burn- 
ing in  our  oivn  souls.  I  am  happy  to  know  that  there  are  very  few, 
if  any,  among  you  that  are  utterly  cold  ;  for  you  go  to  be  warmed 
into  earnestness  if  we  set  about  it  aright.  It  is  very  hard  to  warm 
a  stone.  You  may  clothe  a  man  in  blankets  until  he  is  fairly  warm, 
because  there  is  life  in  him,  but  you  cannot  heat  a  stone  in  that 
fashion  ;  life  always  begets  a  measure  of  warmth  and  the  possi- 
bility of  more,  and  as  you  have  life  there  are  capacities  for  heat. 
Some  preachers  are  of  such  a  cold  nature  that  no  known  means 
could  warm  them.  The  attempt  to  find  heat  in  some  sermons 
reminds  me  of /Esop's  fable  of  the  apes  and  the  glowworm.  The 
apes  found  a  glowworm  shining  on  the  bank,  and  straightway  gath- 
ered round  it  to  warm  themselves.  They  placed  sticks  over  it,  and 
tried  to  make  a  fire,  but  it  did  not  burn.  It  was  a  very  pretty  thing, 
and  looked  like  flame,  but  they  could  not  warm  their  cold  hands 
with  its  cold  light.  So  have  I  known  ministers,  whose  light  was 
destitute  of  heat,  and  consequently  the  poor  sticks  around  them 


l86  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

have  never  kindled  into  a  flame,  nor  have  frozen  hearts  been 
melted  by  their  influence.  It  is  dreadful  work  to  listen  to  a  ser- 
mon, and  feel  all  the  while  as  if  you  were  sitting  out  in  a  snow- 
storm, or  dwelling  in  a  house  of  ice,  clear  but  cold,  orderly,  but 
killing.  You  have  said  to  yourself:  "That  was  a  well-divided  and 
well-planned  sermon,  but  I  cannot  make  out  what  was  the  matter 
with  it;  "  the  secret  being  that  there  was  the  wood,  but  no  fire  to 
kindle  it.  A  great  sermon  without  heart  in  it  reminds  one  of  those 
huge  furnaces  in  Wales  which  have  been  permitted  to  go  out;  they 
are  a  pitiful  sight.  We  prefer  a  sermon  in  which  there  may  be  no 
vast  talent  and  no  great  depth  of  thought,  but  what  there  is  has 
come  fresh  from  the  crucible,  and  like  molten  metal  burns  its  way. 
I  once  knew  a  lad  who  when  he  used  to  go  home  from  the  smithy 
where  he  worked  was  roughly  handled  by  the  boys  of  the  village, 
till  his  master  suggested  to  him  a  plan  of  defence  which  was  won- 
derfully efficacious.  He  took  a  rod  of  iron,  and  just  before  he 
went  home  he  blew  up  the  fire  and  made  the  iron  hot.  When  the 
boys  came  round  him  he  warned  them  not  to  touch  his  stick,  and 
after  one  trial  of  the  same  they  obeyed  the  admonition,  and  rever- 
ently kept  their  distance.  I  do  not  quote  the  example  with  any 
commendation  of  the  actual  fact,  but  with  this  moral  in  view  — 
heat  your  sermon  red-hot,  and  it  will  be  likely  to  be  remembered 
by  all  who  come  into  contact  with  it.  Everything  gives  way  before 
fire. 

Energy  still  remains  an  essential,  whatever  else  in  oratory  may 
have  changed  since  the  days  of  old.  It  is  said  that  the  oft-quoted 
reply  of  Demosthenes  to  the  question,  "  What  is  the  first  thing  in 
oratory?"  was  not  "action,"  but  "energy."  What  is  the  second 
thing?  "Energy."  What  is  the  third  thing?  "Energy."  I  will 
not  pretend  to  decide  the  classical  question;  but  I  am  sure  that 
as  a  matter  of  fact  energy  is  the  main  thing  in  the  human  side  of 
preaching.  Like  the  priests  at  the  altar,  we  can  do  nothing  with- 
out fire.  Brethren,  speak  because  you  believe  the  gospel  of  Jesus; 
speak  because  you  feel  its  power;  speak  under  the  influence  of 
the  truth  which  you  are  delivering;  speak  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  down  from  heaven,  and  the  result  will  not  be  doubtful. 

Let  it  be  carefully  remembered  that  our  flame  must  be  kindled 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    1881.  1 87 

from  on  high.  Nothing  is  more  to  be  despised  than  a  m'ere 
painted  fire,  the  simulation  of  earnestness.  Sooner  let  us  have 
an  honest  death  than  a  counterfeit  life.  The  imitation  of  Baxter 
is  detestable ;  but  to  be  like  Baxter  is  seraphic.  If  you  would  be 
like  Whitfield,  I  would  say  be  Whitfield.  Let  the  fire  be  kindled 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  not  by  animal  passion,  the  desire  of  honor, 
emulation  of  others,  or  the  excitement  of  attending  meetings.  Let 
the  terrible  example  of  Nadab  and  Abihu  for  ever  put  away 
strange  fire  from  our  censers.  Burn  because  you  have  been  in 
solemn  fellowship  with  the  Lord  our  God. 

Recollect  also  that  the  fire  which  you  and  I  need  will  consume 
lis  if  we  truly  possess  it.  "  Spare  yourself,"  may  be  whispered 
by  friends ;  but  it  will  not  be  heeded  when  this  fire  is  burning. 
We  have  given  ourselves  up  to  the  work  of  God,  and  we  cannot 
go  back.  We  desire  to  be  whole  burnt-offerings  and  complete 
sacrifices  to  God,  and  we  dare  not  shun  the  altar.  "  Except  a 
corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone ;  but 
if  it  die,  it  bringcth  forth  much  fruit."  We  can  only  produce  life 
in  others  by  the  wear  and  tear  of  our  own  being.  This  is  a  nat- 
ural and  spiritual  law,  that  fruit  can  only  come  of  the  seed  by  its 
spending  and  being  spent  even  to  self-exhaustion.  Why  are  many 
ministers  worn  and  weary  till  heart  and  brain  give  way?  They 
would  be  of  little  use  if  they  did  not  run  such  a  risk.  All  men 
who  are  eminently  useful  are  made  to  feel  their  weakness  in  a 
supreme  degree.  Can  the  Spirit  of  God,  even  the  Infinite  Deity, 
ride  in  such  frail  chariots  as  these,  without  straining  the  axle  and 
making  the  whole  machine  to  quiver,  as  if  it  would  be  utterly 
dissolved  beneath  its  sacred  burden?  When  God  visits  us  with 
soul-saving  power,  it  is  as  though  devouring  flame  came  forth 
from  heaven  and  made  its  abode  in  our  bosoms ;  and  where  this 
is  the  case  there  may  well  be  a  melting  away  of  all  strength.  Yet 
let  it  be  so:  we  humbly  invite  the  sacred  burnings.  Herod  was 
eaten  of  worms,  being  cursed  of  God ;  but  to  be  consumed  by 
God  for  His  own  service  is  to  be  blessed  to  the  full.  We  have  a 
choice  between  these  two,  to  be  eaten  up  by  our  corruptions,  or 
by  the  zeal  of  God's  house.  It  needs  no  hesitation;  the  choice 
of  every  man  among  us   is  to  be  wholly  the  Lord's,  —  ardently, 


1 88  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

passionately,  vehemently  the  Lord's  servants,  let  the  divine  fervor 
cost  us  what  it  may  of  brain  and  heart  and  life.  Our  only  hope 
of  honor  and  glory  and  immortality  lies  in  the  fulfilment  of  our 
dedication  unto  God ;  as  devoted  things  we  must  be  consumed 
with  fire,  or  rejected.  For  us  to  turn  aside  from  our  life-work, 
and  to  seek  distinction  elsewhere,  is  absolute  folly;  a  blight  will 
be  upon  us ;  we  shall  not  succeed  in  anything  but  the  pursuit  of 
God's  glory  through  the  teaching  of  the  Word.  "  This  people 
have  I  formed  for  myself,"  saith  God ;  "  they  shall  show  forth  my 
praise ;  "  and  if  we  will  not  do  this  we  shall  do  less  than  nothing. 
For  this  one  thing  we  are  created,  and  if  we  miss  this  we  shall 
live  in  vain.  Good  Dr.  Wayland,  the  other  day,  walking  in  my 
garden,  saw  the  swans  out  of  the  water,  and  he  remarked  that 
they  were  the  true  representation  of  persons  who  are  out  of  their 
proper  sphere,  and  attempt  to  do  what  they  were  never  made  for. 
How  ungainly  the  swans  are  on  land ;  they  waddle  in  a  ridiculous 
manner ;  but  as  soon  as  they  are  in  the  water,  how  gracefully  they 
glide  along;  each  one  is  the  model  of  a  ship,  the  image  of  beauty; 
every  line  about  it  is  perfect.  So  is  it  with  a  man  who  is  content 
to  find  in  the  ministry  waters  to  swim  in.  As  God's  sent  servant 
he  is  everything  that  is  beautiful ;  but  as  soon  as  he  dabbles  in 
trade,  or  becomes  a  secular  lecturer,  or  seeks  his  own  aggrandize- 
ment, he  ceases  to  be  admirable,  he  often  becomes  notorious,  and 
is  always  awkward.  Brethren,  you  are  not  meant  for  anything  but 
God  ;  therefore  surrender  yourselves  to  God,  and  find  in  Him 
your  wealth,  your  honor,  and  your  all.  If  you  do  this  you  shall 
be  the  head  and  not  the  tail ;  but  if  you  start  aside  you  shall  be 
lightly  esteemed.  Let  the  fire  of  perfect  consecration  be  heaped 
upon  you,  for  so  shall  you  glow  and  shine  like  molten  silver,  which 
brightens  amid  the  heat.  Let  us  not  subject  ourselves  to  the  shame 
and  eternal  contempt  which  will  be  the  portion  of  those  who  quit 
the  service  of  their  Redeemer  for  the  bondage  of  self-seeking. 
He  that  saveth  his  life  loseth  it;  but  he  that  loseth  his  life  for 
Christ's  sake  shall  find  it  unto  life  eternal. 


XV. 
INAUGURAL     ADDRESS. 

(CONTINUED.) 


Dr.  Marigold  is  sharp  and  shrewd  because  self-interest  makes  him  so  ; 
and  his  extemporary  observations  are  so  patly  uttered  and  adroitly  arranged 
that  he  wins  the  attention  of  all  and  the  custom  of  many.  Would  to  God  that 
preachers  and  other  workers  for  God  had  a  tithe  as  much  common  sense  as 
cheap-jack,  and  were  half  as  earnest  to  bring  men  to  Jesus  Christ  as  cheap-jack 
is  to  bring  them  to  buy  that  tea-tray  and  set  of  real  china !  Oh,  that  we  were 
as  wise  to  win  the  ear  and  heart  of  the  particular  case  with  which  we  have  to 
deal,  as  he  is  in  extorting  a  laugh  and  compelling  the  attention  of  the  passer-by! 
—  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS 

(CONTINUED.) 


THE  next  thing  necessary  to  us  is  FAITH ;  I  might  say  the 
first,  second,  third,  and  last  thing  is  FAITH.  "  Without  faith 
it  is  impossible  to  please  God,"  and  if  we  are  pleasing  God  it  is 
not  by  our  talent  but  by  our  faith.  Just  now  we  much  need  faith 
in  the  form  of  fixity  of  belief.  We  know  more  than  we  did  some 
time  ago ;  at  least  I  hope  we  do.  I  just  now  heard  one  of  you  say 
to  another:  "  How  broad  you  get!  "  Well,  we  do  widen  out;  but 
not  as  some  men,  for  we  are  not  of  the  broad  school  who  believe 
little  or  nothing  aright  because  they  desire  to  believe  everything. 
We  have  cast  our  anchor ;  it  has  taken  a  firm  grip ;  we  have 
ceased  to  drift ;  we  remain  at  rest.  Some  men  have  no  creed ; 
or,  if  they  have,  it  is  altered  so  often  that  it  is  of  no  use  to  them. 
It  must  be  like  the  blanket  of  a  gentleman  who  came  from  the 
Emerald  Isle,  of  which  he  said :  "  See  here !  Our  skipper  has 
given  me  a  shamefully  bad  blanket.  Just  look  at  it:  it  is  too  long 
at  the  top  and  it  is  too  short  at  the  bottom ;  it  gets  over  my  head, 
and  yet  my  feet  are  always  cold.  I  cut  a  whole  foot  off  the  top, 
and  I  sewed  it  on  to  the  bottom,  but  it  is  not  altered  a  bit ;  it 
still  comes  over  my  eyes,  and  is  too  short  to  cover  my  feet." 
That  is  what  certain  **  thinkers  "  do  with  their  creed,  they  keep 
cutting  it  off  at  one  end,  and  putting  it  on  at  the  other;  but  it 
never  gets  right,  —  it  is  always  forming,  never  formed.  Modern 
creeds  are  like  the  clothes  of  Italian  peasants,  which  I  have  gazed 
upon  with  wondering  inquiry.     It  would  puzzle  the   most  learned 


192  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

geologist  to  discover  the  primary  formation  of  a  pair  of  trousers 
which  have  been  patched  and  mended  with  cloth  of  all  patterns 
and  colors  from  generation  to  generation.  Such  and  so  varied  are 
some  men's  beliefs  and  unbeliefs  ;  an  agglomeration  of  philosophic 
rags,  metaphysical  tatters,  theological  remnants,  and  heretical  cast- 
offs.  Certain  thinkers  have  reached  the  blessed  ultimatum  of  be- 
lieving nothing  at  all  with  anything  like  certainty  of  belief.  When 
these  cultivated  persons  speak  of  us  they  manifest  great  scorn, 
and  affect  to  believe  that  we  are  natural  fools.  Ah,  dear !  People 
are  not  always  what  they  are  thought  to  be,  and  it  may  happen 
that  a  man  sees  himself  as  in  a  glass  when  he  thinks  he  is  look- 
ing out  of  window  at  a  neighbor.  It  is  a  sign  of  great  weakness 
when  persons  are  full  of  contempt  for  others.  If  in  any  review 
or  pamphlet  a  writer  parades  his  culture,  you  may  be  sure  that 
he  has  been  lying  fallow  of  late,  and  his  affectations  are  the  weeds 
which  have  come  of  it.  If  it  came  to  a  fair  contest  upon  the 
matter  of  education  and  culture,  the  orthodox  would  be  quite 
able  to  hold  their  own.  Boasting  is  sorry  work ;  but  sometimes 
persons  must  be  answered  according  to  their  folly,  and  I  say 
boldly  that  in  any  sort  of  mental  tournament  we  should  not  trem- 
ble to  tilt  with  the  men  of  "  modern  thought."  Be  it  so  or  not,  it 
is  ours  to  believe.  We  believe  that  when  the  Lord  our  God  gave 
forth  a  revelation  He  knew  His  own  mind,  and  that  He  expressed 
Himself  in  the  best  and  wisest  manner,  and  in  terms  that  can  be 
understood  by  those  who  are  teachable  and  truthful.  We  there- 
fore believe  that  no  new  revelation  is  needed,  and  that  the  idea 
of  other  light  to  come  is  practically  unbelief  in  the  light  which 
now  is,  seeing  the  light  of  truth  is  one.  We  believe  that  though 
the  Bible  has  been  twisted  and  turned  about  by  sacrilegious  hands, 
it  is  still  the  infallible  revelation  of  God.  It  is  a  main  part  of  our 
religion  humbly  to  accept  what  God  has  revealed.  Perhaps  the 
highest  form  of  adoration  possible  on  this  side  the  veil  is  the  bow- 
ing of  our  entire  mental  and  spiritual  being  before  the  revealed 
mind  of  God  ;  the  kneeling  of  the  understanding  in  that  sacred 
Presence  whose  glory  causes  angels  to  veil  their  faces.  Let  those 
who  please  worship  science,  reason,  and  their  own  clear  judg- 
ments ;   it  is  ours  to  submit  ourselves  before  the  Lord  our  God, 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    1 88 1.  193 

and  say:  "This  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever:  He  shall  be 
our  guide  even  unto  death." 

Brethren,  rally  to  the  old  standard.  Fight  to  the  death  for  the 
old  gospel,  for  it  is  your  life.  Whatever  forms  of  expression  you 
may  use  as  you  advance  in  knowledge,  ever  keep  the  cross  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  forefront,  and  let  all  the  blessed  truths  which 
gather  around  it  be  heartily  maintained. 

We  must  have  faith  not  only  in  the  form  of  fixity  of  creed, 
but  also  in  the  shape  of  constant  dependence  tipon  God.  If  I 
were  asked  what  is  the  sweetest  frame  within  the  whole  compass 
of  human  feeling,  I  should  not  speak  of  a  sense  of  power  in 
prayer,  or  abundant  revelation,  or  rapturous  joys,  or  conquest  of 
evil  spirits ;  but  I  should  mention  as  the  most  exquisite  delight 
of  my  being,  a  condition  of  conscious  dependence  upon  God.  It 
has  been  often  associated  with  great  pain  and  humiliation  of  spirit, 
but  it  is  inexpressibly  delightful  to  lie  passive  in  the  hand  of  love, 
to  die  into  the  life  of  Christ.  It  is  deep  joy  to  feel  that  you  do 
not  know,  but  your  Heavenly  Father  knows ;  that  you  cannot 
speak,  but  "  we  have  an  Advocate  "  ;  that  you  can  scarcely  lift  a 
hand,  but  that  He  worketh  all  your  works  in  you.  The  entire 
submission  of  our  soul  to  our  Lord,  the  full  content  of  the  heart 
with  God's  will  and  way,  the  sure  reliance  of  the  mind  upon  the 
heavenly  presence  and  power,  —  this  is  the  nearest  approach  to 
heaven  that  I  know;  and  it  is  better  than  rapture,  for  one  can 
abide  in  it  without  strain  or  reaction. 

"  Oh,  to  be  nothing,  nothing; 
Only  to  lie  at  His  feet." 

It  is  not  so  sublime  a  feeling  as  soaring  aloft  on  the  wings  of 
eagles;  but  for  sweetness  —  deep,  mysterious,  indescribable  —  it 
bears  the  palm.  It  is  a  blessedness  which  can  bear  to  be  thought 
of,  a  joy  which  never  seems  to  be  a  stolen  one;  for  surely  a 
poor,  frail  child  has  an  unquestioned  right  to  depend  upon  God, 
a  right  to  be  nothing  in  the  presence  of  the  All-supporting  One. 
I  love  to  preach  in  such  a  mood,  not  as  though /was  about  to 
preach  at  all,  but  hoping  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  speak  in  me. 
Thus  to  conduct  prayer-meetings,  and  church-meetings,  and  all 

13 


194  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

sorts  of  business  will  be  found  to  be  our  wisdom  and  our  joy.  We 
generally  make  our  worst  blunders  about  things  that  are  perfectly 
easy,  when  the  thing  is  so  plain  that  we  do  not  ask  God  to  guide 
us,  because  we  think  our  own  common  sense  will  be  sufificient, 
and  so  we  commit  grave  errors;  but  in  the  difficulties,  the  extreme 
difficulties  which  we  take  before  God,  He  gives  young  men  pru- 
dence, and  teaches  youths  knowledge  and  discretion.  Dependence 
upon  God  is  the  flowing  fountain  of  success.  That  true  saint  of 
God,  George  Miiller,  has  always  struck  me  when  I  have  heard 
him  speak  as  being  such  a  simple,  childlike  being  in  his  depen- 
dence upon  God.  But,  alas  !  the  most  of  us  are  far  too  great  for 
God  to  use  us ;  we  can  preach  as  well  as  anybody,  make  a  sermon 
with  anybody  —  and  so  we  fail.  Take  care,  brethren ;  for  if  we 
think  we  can  do  anything  of  ourselves,  all  we  shall  get  from  God 
will  be  the  opportunity  to  try.  He  will  thus  prove  us,  and  let  us 
see  our  nothingness.  A  certain  alchemist  who  waited  upon  Leo 
X.  declared  that  he  had  discovered  how  to  transmute  the  baser 
metals  into  gold.  He  expected  to  receive  a  sum  of  money  for 
his  discovery,  but  Leo  was  no  such  simpleton ;  he  merely  gave 
him  a  huge  purse  in  which  to  keep  the  gold  which  he  would 
make.  There  was  wisdom  as  well  as  sarcasm  in  the  present. 
That  is  precisely  what  God  does  with  proud  men  :  He  lets  them 
have  the  opportunity  to  do  what  they  boasted  of  being  able  to  do. 
I  never  heard  that  so  much  as  a  solitary  gold  piece  was  dropped 
into  Leo's  purse,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  never  be  spiritually  rich 
by  what  you  can  do  in  your  own  strength.  Be  stripped,  brother, 
and  then  God  may  be  pleased  to  clothe  you  with  honor,  but  not 
till  then. 

It  is  essential  that  we  should  exhibit  faith  in  the  form  of  confi- 
dence in  God.  Brothers,  it  would  be  a  great  calamity  if  it  could 
be  said  of  any  one  of  you :  "  He  had  an  excellent  moral  character 
and  remarkable  gifts ;  but  he  did  not  trust  God."  Faith  is  a  chief 
necessary.  "  Above  all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith  "  was  the  apos- 
tolic injunction.  Alas  !  some  men  go  to  the  fight,  but  leave  their 
shield  at  home.  It  would  be  dreadful  to  think  of  a  sermon  as  all 
a  sermon  ought  to  be  in  every  respect  except  that  the  preacher 
did  not  trust  in  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bless  it  to  the  conversion  of 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    I  88  I.  I95 

souls ;  such  a  discourse  is  vain.  No  sermon  is  what  it  ought  to 
be  if  faith  be  absent :  as  well  say  that  a  body  is  in  health  when 
life  is  extinct.  It  is  admirable  to  see  a  man  humbly  conscious  of 
weakness,  and  yet  bravely  confident  in  the  Lord's  power  to  work 
through  his  infirmity.  We  may  glory  at  large  when  God  is  our 
glory.  Attempting  great  things,  we  shall  not  overdo  ourselves  in 
the  attempt;  and  expecting  great  things,  we  shall  not  be  disap- 
pointed in  our  expectation.  Nelson  was  asked  whether  a  certain 
movement  of  his  ships  was  not  perilous,  and  he  replied,  "  Perilous 
it  may  be,  but  in  naval  affairs  nothing  is  impossible,  and  nothing 
is  improbable."  I  make  bold  to  assert  that  in  the  service  of  God 
nothing  is  impossible  and  nothing  is  improbable.  Go  on,  in  the 
name  of  God;  risk  everything  on  His  promise,  and  according  to 
your  faith  shall  it  be  done  unto  you. 

The  common  policy  of  our  churches  is  that  of  great  prudence. 
We  do  not,  as  a  rule,  attempt  anything  beyond  our  strength.  We 
measure  means  and  calculate  possibilities  with  economical  accu- 
racy; then  we  strike  off  a  large  discount  for  contingencies,  and  a 
still  larger  as  provision  for  our  ease,  and  so  we  accomplish  little 
because  we  have  no  idea  of  doing  much.  I  would  to  God  we  had 
more  "  pluck."  I  know  of  no  fitter  word  :  though  the  word  may 
better  suit  the  camp  than  the  church,  we  will  for  once  borrow 
from  the  barracks.  Bear  in  mind  that  there  is  nothing  like 
courage,  even  in  ordinary  things.  Sir  Richard  Sutton,  when  he 
was  ambassador  to  Prussia,  was  taken  by  Frederick  the  Great  to 
see  his  regiment  of  giants,  every  one  of  whom  stood  six  feet  six 
in  his  shoes.  The  king  said  to  him,  "  Do  you  think  any  regiment 
in  the  English  army  could  fight  my  men,  man  for  man?"  Sir 
Richard  answered,  "  Please  your  majesty,  I  do  not  know  whether 
the  same  aumber  could  beat  your  giants,  but  I  know  that  half  the 
number  would  try  at  it."  Let  us  attempt  great  things,  for  those 
who  believe  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  succeed  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion. By  faith  the  worker  lives.  The  right  noble  Earl  of  Shaftes- 
bury said  the  other  afternoon  of  Ragged-school  teachers  and  their 
work,  — "  It  was  evident  to  all  thinking  persons  that  we  had  a 
great  danger  in  the  ignorance  of  the  children  of  the  lower  classes, 
and   so   the   senators  began  to   think  of  it,  and  the  philosophers 


196  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

began  to  think  of  it,  and  good  men  of  all  sorts  began  to  think  of 
it;  but  while  they  were  all  engaged  in  thinking,  a  few  plain, 
humble  people  opened  Ragged  Schools,  and  did  it!'  This  is  the 
kind  of  faith  of  which  we  need  more  and  more  :  we  need  so  to  trust 
in  God  as  to  put  our  hand  to  the  plough  in  His  name.  It  is  idle 
to  spend  time  in  making  and  altering  plans,  and  doing  nothing 
else ;  the  best  plan  for  doing  God's  work  is  to  do  it.  Brothers, 
if  you  do  not  believe  in  anybody  else,  believe  in  God  without 
stint.  Believe  up  to  the  hilt.  Bury  yourselves,  both  as  to  your 
weakness  and  your  strength,  in  simple  trust  in  God.  "  Oh,"  said 
one,  "  as  to  that  man,  there  is  no  telling  what  mad  thing  he  will 
start  next !  "  Let  the  sneer  pass,  though  it  may  be  as  well  to  say : 
*'  I  am  not  mad,  most  noble  Festus ;  but  carry  out  works  of  truth 
and  soberness."  The  end  of  all  things  will  show  that  faith  in  God 
is  sanctified  common  sense,  without  an  atom  of  folly  in  it.  To 
believe  God's  Word  is  the  most  reasonable  thing  we  can  do,  it  is 
the  plainest  course  that  we  can  take,  and  the  safest  policy  that  we 
can  adopt,  even  as  to  taking  care  of  ourselves ;  for  Jesus  says, 
"  Whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it;  but  whosoever  shall 
lose  his  life  for  My  sake  and  the  gospel's,  the  same  shall  save  it." 
Let  us  stake  all  upon  the  faithfulness  of  God,  and  we  shall  never 
be  ashamed  or  confounded,  world  without  end. 

You  must  also  have  faith  in  God  in  the  form  of  expectaiicy. 
Our  brethren  Smith  and  Fullerton  would  not  have  a  blessing  on 
their  work  if  they  did  not  expect  the  blessing  to  come;  but 
expecting  the  blessing,  they  provide  an  inquiry-room,  and  persons 
to  look  after  the  converts.  Shall  we  commence  farming  and  pro- 
vide no  barn?  In  many  a  village  the  Lord  has  saved  souls  under 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  but  the  minister  has  never  said,  "  I 
shall  be  in  the  vestry  on  such  and  such  an  evening  to  see  inquir- 
ers ;  "  or  *'  I  shall  stop  after  the  sermon  to  talk  with  the  anxious." 
He  has  never  given  the  people  a  chance  of  telling  what  the  Lord 
has  done  for  them,  and  if  he  should  hear  that  a  dozen  people  have 
been  convinced  of  sin,  he  would  be  surprised,  and  fear  that  they 
were  hypocrites.  We  have  not  so  learned  Christ.  We  look  to 
take  fish  in  our  nets,  and  to  reap  harvests  in  our  fields.  Is  it  so 
with  you,  my  brethren?     Let  it  be  more  so.     "Open  thy  mouth 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    1881.  1 97 

wide,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  and  I  will  fill  it."  So  pray  and  so  preach 
that  if  there  are  no  conversions  you  will  be  astonished,  amazed,  and 
broken-hearted.  Look  for  the  salvation  of  your  hearers  as  much 
as  the  angel  who  will  sound  the  last  trump  will  look  for  the  waking 
of  the  dead.  Believe  your  own  doctrine !  Believe  your  own 
Saviour!  Believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost  who  dwells  in  you!  For 
thus  shall  you  see  your  hearts'  desire,  and  God  shall  be  glorified. 

It  is  time  to  talk  of  the  fourth  thing,  namely,  LIFE.  The 
preacher  must  have  life ;  he  must  have  life  in  Iiiviself.  Are  you 
all  alive,  my  brother?  Of  course  you  have  been  quickened  as  a 
plain  believer;  but  as  a  minister  are  you  altogether  alive?  If 
there  is  a  bone  in  a  man's  body  which  is  not  alive,  it  becomes  the 
nidus  of  disease ;  for  instance,  a  decayed  tooth  may  cause  more 
serious  injury  than  most  people  imagine.  In  a  living  system  a 
dead  portion  is  out  of  place,  and  is  sure  sooner  or  later  to  create 
intense  pain.  It  is  a  wise  arrangement  that  it  should  be  so,  for 
decay  has  a  tendency  to  spread,  and  mischief  might  be  caused 
imperceptibly  if  pain  did  not  sound  the  alarm-bell.  I  hope  that 
any  part  of  our  soul  which  is  not  truly  alive  may  pain  us  till  the 
evil  is  removed. 

Some  brethren  never  seem  to  be  thoroughly  alive.  Their  heads 
are  alive,  they  are  intelligent  and  studious ;  but,  alas  !  their  hearts 
are  inactive,  cold,  lethargic.  Many  preachers  never  spy  out 
opportunities,  for  death  seems  to  have  sealed  up  their  eyes,  and 
their  tongue  also  is  not  half  quickened,  so  that  they  mumble  and 
stumble,  and  all  around  them  sleep  rules  the  hour.  I  have  been 
told  that  if  certain  preachers  would  only  for  once  stamp  a  foot, 
or  lift  a  handkerchief,  or  do  anything  out  of  their  regular  way,  it 
would  be  a  relief  to  their  people.  I  hope  none  of  you  have 
become  quite  so  mechanical ;  but  I  know  that  some  are  heavy 
and  yet  not  weighty,  solemn  and  yet  not  impressive.  My  brother, 
I  want  you  to  be  alive  from  the  sole  of  your  foot  to  the  crown  of 
your  head,  —  alive  in  brain  and  heart,  in  tongue  and  hand,  in  eye 
and  ear.     The  living  God  should  be  served  by  living  men. 

Labor  to  be  alive  in  all  your  duties.  John  Bradford,  the  martyr, 
used  to  say,  "  I  never  go  away  from  any  part  of  the  service  of 
God  till  I  feel  thoroughly  alive  in  it,  and  know  that  the  Lord  is 


198  l.IFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    II.    SPURGEON. 

with  mc  in  it."  Cany  out  this  rule  conscientiously.  In  confessing 
sin,  go  on  confessing  till  you  feel  that  )-our  tears  have  washed  the 
Saviour's  feet.  In  seeking  pardon,  continue  to  seek  till  the  Holy 
Spirit  bears  witness  to  your  peace  with  God.  In  preparing  a 
sermon,  wait  upon  the  Lord  until  you  have  communion  with 
Christ  in  it,  until  the  Holy  Spirit  causes  you  to  feel  the  power  of 
the  truth  which  you  are  to  deliver.  "  Son  of  man,  eat  this  roll." 
Before  you  attempt  to  give  out  the  word  to  others,  get  it  into 
yourself.  Is  there  not  too  much  dead  praying,  and  dead  preach- 
ing, and  dead  church  work  of  all  sorts?  Do  you  not  know 
churches  which  are  like  the  ghostly  ship  in  the  legend,  the 
captain,  the  mate,  and  all  the  crew  are  dead  men? 

'*  The  mariners  all  do  work  the  ropes 
As  they  've  been  wont  to  do  ; 
Tliey  raise  their  limbs  like  lifeless  tools  — 
They  are  a  ghastly  crew. 

"  The  body  of  my  deacon's  self 
Stands  by  me  knee  to  knee ; 
The  body  and  I  pull  at  one  rope, 
But  nothing  of  life  have  we." 

This  is  a  grim  business,  but  I  ha\'e  beheld  such  a  sight,  though 
never  have  I  seen  a  ghost.  I  recollect  being  years  ago  in  a 
church  which  was  almost  defunct  externally,  and  altogether  de- 
funct internally,  and  after  sermon,  during  which  I  felt  a  terrible 
chill  of  soul,  I  went  into  the  vestry,  and  there  I  saw  two  important 
persons  leaning  heavily  against  the  fire-place.  I  said  to  them, 
"Are  you  the  deacons  of  the  church?"  They  answered,  "Yes, 
sir."  I  replied,  "I  thought  so!"  I  did  not  explain  further. 
These  pillars  of  the  church  evidently  needed  propping  up.  Slug- 
gish ease  will  not  do  !  Brethren,  we  must  have  life  more  abun- 
dantly, each  one  of  us,  and  it  must  flow  out  into  all  the  duties  of 
our  office:  warm  spiritual  life  must  be  manifest  in  the  prayer,  in 
the  singing,  in  the  preaching,  and  even  in  the  shake,  of  the  hand 
and  the  good  word  after  service.  I  delight  in  these  conferences 
because  they  are  living  assemblies ;  the  room  does  not  feel  like  a 
vault,  nor  do  you  salute  each  other  like  a  set  of  living  skeletons 
without  hearts,  or  a  company  of  respectable  mandarins  fresh  from 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    1881.  199 

the  tea-shops,  who  nod  and  bow  mechanically.  I  cannot  endure 
meetings  where  the  only  exhibition  of  hfe  is  seen  in  heated 
discussions  over  points  of  order,  amendments,  and  movings  of 
the  previous  question.  One  marvels  at  the  little  things  over 
which  an  assembly  will  waste  hours  of  precious  time,  contending 
as  if  the  destiny  of  the  whole  world  and  the  fate  of  the  starry 
heavens  depended  upon  the  debate.  How  the  mountain  heaves, 
but  how  small  a  mouse  is  born  !  Brethren,  may  you  be  alive,  and 
keep  alive,  and  disseminate  your  life.  We  read  in  Plato  that  the 
Egyptian  priests  said  concerning  the  Greeks,  "  You  Greeks  are 
always  youths,  there  is  not  an  old  man  among  you."  Neither, 
sirs,  is  there  an  old  man  among  us  at  this  hour;  we  are  full  of 
youth  even  unto  this  day,  and  if  you  want  to  see  one  whose  vigor 
and  cheerfulness  prove  that  his  gray  hairs  are  all  external,  there 
sits  the  man  [pointing  to  Mr.  George  Rogers].  It  is  a  grand 
thing  to  be  perpetually  renewing  your  youth,  never  getting  into 
the  ruts,  but  making  new  tracks  with  your  glowing  wheels.  Those 
who  are  old  when  they  are  young,  are  likely  to  be  young  when 
they  are  old.  I  like  to  see  the  liveliness  of  the  child  associated 
with  the  gravity  of  the  father ;  but  especially  do  I  rejoice  to  see  a 
godly  man  keep  up  the  vivacity,  the  joy,  the  earnestness  of  his 
first  love.  It  is  a  crime  to  permit  our  fires  to  burn  low  while 
experience  yields  us  more  and  more  abundant  fuel.  Be  it  ours  to 
go  from  strength  to  strength,  from  life  to  more  abundant  life. 

Be  full  of  life  at  all  times,  and  let  that  life  be  seen  in  your  ordi- 
nary conversation.  It  is  a  shocking  state  of  things  when  good 
people  say,  "  Our  minister  undoes  in  the  parlor  what  he  has  done 
in  the  pulpit;  he  preaches  very  well,  but  his  life  does  not  agree 
with  his  sermons."  Our  Lord  Jesus  would  have  us  perfect  even 
as  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect.  Every  Christian  should 
be  holy ;  but  we  are  laid  under  a  sevenfold  obligation  to  it.  God 
help  us  so  to  live  that  we  may  be  safe  examples  to  our  flocks: 
how  can  we  expect  the  divine  blessing  if  it  be  not  so?  In  such 
a  case  life  will  go  out  of  us  to  others.  The  man  whom  God  uses 
for  quickening  is  the  man  who  is  himself  quickened.  May  we  and 
our  people  become  like  those  ornamental  waters  which  we  have 
seen  while  travelling  in  foreign  parts ;    the  water  leaps   up  as   a 


200  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON, 

fountain,  and  descends  into  a  basin ;  when  that  basin  is  full  the 
crystal  runs  over  the  brink  in  a  sparkling  sheet  and  rolls  into  an- 
other basin,  and  the  process  is  repeated  again  and  again  till  the 
result  charms  the  eye.  At  our  conference,  my  brethren,  may  the 
living  waters  flow  into  us,  and  then  flow  from  us  till  thousands 
shall  receive  a  blessing,  and  communicate  it  to  others.  "  He  that 
believeth  in  Him,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall 
flow  rivers  of  living  water."  God  fill  you  to  the  brim,  and  cause 
you  to  overflow.  This  is  essential :  life  we  must  have.  If  among 
us  there  is  a  slumbering  brother,  who  does  everything  in  a  slow 
way,  let  him  wake  up.  If  any  one  among  us  performs  his  duty  in 
a  lifeless  manner,  as  if  he  were  paid  by  the  pound,  and  would  not 
give  half  an  ounce  over,  let  him  also  wake  up.  Our  work  requires 
that  we  serve  the  Lord  with  all  our  heart,  and  with  all  our  soul, 
and  with  all  our  mind,  and  with  all  our  strength.  Ours  is  no  place 
for  half-heartedness.  Go,  ye  dead  ones,  take  a  chaplain's  place  at 
the  cemetery  and  bury  your  dead ;  but  work  among  living  men 
needs  life  —  vigorous,  intense  life.  A  corpse  among  angelic  choirs 
would  not  be  more  out  of  place  than  a  lifeless  man  in  the  gospel 
ministry:    God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living. 

The  last  thing,  but  not  the  least  important,  is  LOVE.  Assuredly 
we  must  abound  in  love.  It  is  a  hard  thing  for  some  preachers  to 
saturate  and  perfume  their  sermons  with  love ;  for  their  natures  are 
hard,  or  cold,  or  coarse,  or  selfish.  We  are  none  of  us  all  that  we 
ought  to  be,  but  some  are  specially  poverty-stricken  in  point  of  love. 
They  do  not  "  naturally  care"  for  the  souls  of  men,  as  Paul  puts  it. 
To  all,  but  especially  to  the  harder  sort,  we  would  say,  Be  doubly 
earnest  as  to  holy  charity,  for  without  this  you  will  be  no  more 
than  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal.  Love  is  power.  The 
Holy  Spirit  for  the  most  part  works  by  our  afl"ection.  Love  men 
to  Christ;  faith  accomplishes  much,  but  love  is  the  actual  instru- 
ment by  which  faith  works  out  its  desires  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
of  love. 

Brethren,  love  yotir  xvork.  You  will  never  preach  well  unless 
you  are  enamored  of  it:  you  will  never  do  well  in  any  particular 
charge  unless  you  love  the  people,  and  I  would  almost  say  the 
village  and  the  meeting-house.     I  would    have   you  believe  that 


INAUGURAL    ADDRESS,    1881.  20I 

Slocum-in-the-Marsh  is  a  gem  among  villages.  Think  that  Lon- 
don may  be  all  very  well  as  a  city,  but  as  a  village  Slocum  bears 
the  palm.  Even  your  chapel,  with  all  its  plainness,  should  have 
charms  for  you  :  be  of  opinion  that  the  Tabernacle  is  very  well  in 
its  way,  but  that  it  has  great  deficiencies  about  it;  that  it  is  too  big 
for  one  thing — at  least,  too  big  for  you.  Your  meeting-house 
holds  only  three  hundred  and  twenty;  but  in  your  judgment  that 
is  quite  as  large  a  number  as  one  man  can  see  after  with  any  hope 
of  success;  at  least  it  involves  a  responsibility  quite  as  large  as 
you  desire  to  bear.  When  a  mother's  love  to  her  children  leads 
her  to  believe  that  they  are  the  sweetest  in  the  parish,  she  takes 
more  care  in  their  washing  and  their  dressing;  if  she  thought  them 
ugly,  troublesome  beings,  she  would  neglect  them ;  and  I  am  sure 
that  until  we  heartily  love  our  work,  and  love  the  people  with 
whom  we  are  working,  we  shall  not  accomplish  much.  I  can  truly 
say  that  I  do  not  know  anybody  in  all  the  world  that  I  would  like 
to  change  places  with.  "  Ah,"  say  you,  "  that  is  very  likely,  for 
you  have  a  fine  position."  I  am  quite  of  that  opinion;  but  I 
thought  just  the  same  of  my  little  pastorate  at  Waterbeach,  and  it 
was  with  the  utmost  reluctance  that  I  removed  from  the  first  to 
the  second.  I  still  retain  the  belief  that  there  were  people  in  my 
first  congregation  whose  like  I  shall  never  see  again,  and  that  as  a 
position  of  usefulness  there  are  great  attractions  about  that  Cam- 
bridgeshire village.  It  is  a  rule  to  which  I  know  of  no  exception, 
that  to  prosper  in  any  work  you  must  have  an  enthusiasm  for  it. 

You  must  have  also  intense  love  to  the  souls  of  men,  if  you  are  to 
influence  them  for  good.  Nothing  can  compensate  for  the  absence 
of  this.  Soul-winning  must  be  your  passion,  you  must  be  born  to 
it;  it  must  be  the  very  breath  of  your  nostrils,  the  only  thing  for 
which  you  count  life  worth  the  having.  We  must  hunt  after  souls 
even  as  the  Swiss  hunter  pursues  the  chamois  because  the  spirit  of 
the  chase  has  mastered  him.  Above  all,  we  must  feel  an  intense 
love  to  God.  Our  dear  brother  who  led  us  in  prayer  this  morning 
rightly  spoke  of  the  power  which  girds  us  when  we  burn  with  love 
to  God,  Why  is  it  we  tell  children  and  young  people,  "You  must 
love  Jesus  in  order  to  be  saved"?  This  is  not  the  gospel.  The 
gospel  is,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 


202  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

saved."  We  are  careful  to  state  the  matter  correctly  to  the  grown, 
people;  why  give  it  inaccurately  to  the  young?  If  we  make  a 
difference  at  all  it  will  be  wiser  to  tell  the  children  to  believe,  and 
the  old  people  to  love :  the  error  will  be  less  injurious,  for  love  is 
the  great  lack  of  most  men.  The  holy  grace  of  love  needs  to  be 
more  preached  among  us,  and  more  felt  by  us.  "Oh,"  said  a 
woman  when  she  was  speaking  of  the  Lord  to  her  minister,  "  He 
has  heard  my  prayer  many  a  time,  and  I  can  have  what  I  want  of 
Him,  for  by  His  grace  I  am  very  thick  with  Him."  She  meant 
that  communion  had  wrought  sweet  fellowship,  and  so  her  prayers 
were  heard.  Oh,  that  we  lived  on  familiar  terms  with  the  Well- 
beloved,  and  felt  His  love  within  our  bosoms  always.  Love  to 
God  will  help  a  man  to  persevere  in  service  when  otherwise  he 
would  have  given  up  his  work.  "  The  love  of  Christ  constrainetk 
us,"  said  one  whose  heart  was  all  his  Master's.  I  heard  one  say 
the  other  day  that  the  "  love  of  Christ  ought  to  constrain  us." 
This  is  true,  but  Paul  did  not  so  much  speak  of  a  duty  as  of  a 
fact:    he  said,  "The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us." 

Beloved  brethren,  if  you  are  filled  with  love  to  your  work,  and 
love  to  souls,  and  love  to  God,  you  will  gladly  endure  many  self- 
denials  which  else  would  be  unbearable.  The  poverty  of  our 
country  brethren  is  very  trying,  and  ought  by  all  means  to  be 
relieved ;  but  we  may  well  feel  proud  that  so  many  men  are 
forthcoming  who,  for  the  sake  of  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
are  willing  to  leave  remunerative  callings  and  endure  hardness. 
Other  denominations  might  pay  them  better,  but  they  spurn  the 
golden  bribe,  and  remain  faithful  to  Christ  and  to  the  ordinances 
as  they  were  delivered.  All  honor  to  those  life-long  martyrs  who 
put  up  with  sore  privations  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  His  Church. 
The  devil  once  met  a  Christian  man,  so  I  have  heard,  and  said 
to  him :  "  You  call  yourself  a  servant  of  God.  What  do  you  do 
more  than  I  do?  You  boast  that  you  fast:  so  do  I ;  for  I  neither 
eat  nor  drink.  You  do  not  commit  adultery;  neither  do  L"  The 
fiend  mentioned  a  long  list  of  sins  of  which  he  is  incapable, 
from  which  he  could  therefore  claim  exemption.  The  saint  at 
last  said  to  him:  "  I  do  one  thing  which  thou  never  didst;  I  deny 
myself."     That  is  the  point  in  which  the  Christian  comes  out:    he 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS,    I  88  I.  203 

denies  himself  for  Christ's  sake ;  beheving  in  Jesus,  he  counts  ail 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
Jesus  his  Lord.  Brethren,  do  not  leave  your  charges  because  the 
stipend  is  small.  Your  poor  people  must  be  looked  after  by 
somebody.  Do  not  despair  when  times  are  hard,  for  they  will  be 
better  by  and  by;  and  meanwhile  your  Heavenly  Father  knows 
your  needs.  We  have  heard  of  men  who  have  remained  in 
plague-stricken  cities  when  others  fled,  because  they  could  be 
of  service  to  the  sick.  Abide,  then,  with  your  people  when  work 
fails  them ;  be  as  faithful  to  your  God  as  many  a  man  has  been 
faithful  to  his  philanthropy.  If  you  can  anyhow  manage  to  tide 
over  the  present  distress,  stick  to  the  people.  God  will  help  you 
and  reward  you  if  you  have  faith  in  Him.  May  the  Lord  confirm 
your  confidence,  and  comfort  you  in  your  tribulation  ! 

Go  on,  brethren,  go  on  preaching  the  same  gospel;  but  preach 
it  with  more  faith,  and  preach  it  better  every  day.  Do  not  draw 
back :  your  place  is  to  the  front.  Qualify  yourselves  for  larger 
spheres,  you  that  are  in  little  places ;  but  do  not  neglect  your 
studies  to  look  after  better  positions.  Be  prepared  for  an  open- 
ing when  it  comes,  and  rest  assured  that  the  office  will  come  to 
the  man  who  is  fit  for  the  office.  We  are  not  so  cheap  that  we 
need  go  hawking  ourselves  in  every  market ;  the  churches  are 
always  on  the  look-out  for  really  efficient  preachers.  Men  whose 
fitness  for  the  ministry  is  doubtful  are  at  a  great  discount  nowa- 
days ;   but  for  men  of  ability  and  usefulness  there  is  great  demand. 

You  cannot  hide  a  candle  under  a  bushel,  and  you  cannot  keep 
a  really  able  man  in  an  insignificant  position.  Patronage  is  of  the 
smallest  importance ;  fitness  for  the  work,  grace,  ability,  earnest- 
ness, and  a  loving  disposition  soon  push  the  man  into  his  place. 
God  will  bring  His  servant  into  his  true  position,  if  he  has  but 
faith  to  trust  in  Him.  I  put  this  word  at  the  tail-end  of  my 
address,  because  I  know  the  discouragements  under  which  you 
labor.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  hard  work  for  Christ ;  a  terrible  reck- 
oning awaits  those  who  have  an  easy  time  in  the  ministry,  but  a 
great  reward  is  in  reserve  for  those  who  endure  all  things  for  the 
elect's  sake.  You  will  not  regret  your  poverty  when  Christ  com- 
eth  and  calleth  His  own  servants  to  Him.     It  will  be  a  sweet  thing 


204  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

to  have  died  at  your  post,  not  turning  aside  for  wealth,  or  running 
from  Dan  to  Beersheba  to  obtain  a  better  salary,  but  stopping 
where  your  Lord  bade  you  hold  the  fort. 

Brethren,  consecrate  yourselves  to  God  afresh.  Bring  hither 
new  cords.  Bind  the  sacrifice  again  to  the  altar !  Struggle  as  it 
may,  anxious  to  escape  the  knife,  fearful  of  the  fire,  yet  bind  it 
with  cords,  even  with  cords,  to  the  horns  of  the  altar ;  for  until 
death  and  in  death  we  are  the  Lord's.  Entire  surrender  of  every- 
thing to  Jesus  is  our  watchword  this  day.  Only  may  the  Lord 
accept  the  living  sacrifice  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake !     Amen. 


XVI. 
STOCK  WELL    ORPHANAGE. 


In  a  church  in  Verona  stands,  or  rather  sits,  a  wooden  image  of  St.  Zeno, 
an  ancient  bishop,  with  knees  so  ludicrously  short  that  there  is  no  lap  on  which 
a  babe  could  be  dandled.  He  was  not  the  first  nor  the  last  ecclesiastic  who  has 
been  utterly  incapable  of  being  a  nursing  father  to  the  Church.  It  were  well  if 
all  ministers  had  a  heavenly  instinct  for  the  nourishing  and  bringing  up  of  the 
Lord's  little  ones.     Is  there  not  much  lack  in  this  ?  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


STOCKWELL    ORPHANAGE. 


o 


F  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Orphanage  Mr.  Stevenson  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  and  description  :  — 


It  is  the  Lord's  own  work  to  care  for  the  fatherless.  Those  who 
have  faith  in  God  never  need  be  without  success  in  undertaking 
the  care  of  the  orphan.  God  helps  the  helpless;  but  He  uses 
man  as  His  agent  in  arranging  details.  Soon  after  "  The  Sword 
and  the  Trowel  "  was  commenced  Mr.  Spurgeon  indicated  in  one 
of  his  articles  published  in  its  pages  several  forms  of  Christian 
usefulness,  and  amongst  them  the  care  of  the  orphan. 

Shortly  afterwards,  in  September,  1866,  Mr.  Spurgeon  received 
a  letter  from  a  lady,  offering  to  place  at  his  command  the  sum  of 
$100,000,  with  which  to  commence  an  orphanage  for  fatherless 
boys.  At  first  he  felt  disposed  to  avoid  the  onerous  responsi- 
bilities of  such  a  work;  and,  calling  at  the  address  given  by  the 
lady,  tried  to  prevail  upon  her  to  give  the  money  to  Mr.  Muller, 
of  Bristol.  The  claims  of  London  for  such  an  institution  were 
urged ;  and,  unable  to  refuse  the  request  of  the  generous  donor, 
the  money  was  accepted  on  trust  for  the  purpose  named.  Mrs. 
Hillyard,  the  widow  of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England, 
was  the  lady  whose  benevolence  thus  originated  the  Orphanage. 
The  money  was  in  railway  debentures,  which  were  not  at  that  time 
available  for  use  otherwise  than  as  an  investment. 

After  consulting  with  the  leading  friends  at  the  Tabernacle,  a 
body  of  twelve  trustees  was  chosen,  in  whose  names  the  money 
was   invested,   and   a   resolution  was  agreed    upon   to   purchase  a 


208  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

suitable  plot  of  land  at  Stockwell,  on  which  to  erect  an  orphanage. 
In  March,  1867,  the  deed  of  incorporation  was  signed  by  the  trus- 
tees, and  in  May  the  claims  of  the  projected  buildings  were  urged 
with  so  much  force  and  urgency  that  the  people  belonging  to  the 
Tabernacle  took  up  the  case  with  loving  zeal  and  energy.  By  the 
month  of  August  $5,350  were  in  hand,  and  the  whole  church  at 
the  Tabernacle  was  engaged  in  collecting  on  this  behalf.  Prayer, 
faith,  and  prompt,  energetic  action  were  all  combined  in  the  efforts 
made,  and  pastors,  trustees,  and  congregation  were  of  one  mind 
in  their  purpose  to  make  the  work  a  success. 

Within  the  space  of  a  year  the  plan  of  the  Orphanage  was 
matured,  the  foundations  laid,  the  work  was  making  rapid  prog- 
ress, and  a  large  amount  of  money  was  in  hand  for  the  purpose. 
Donations  from  $5  to  $1,250  had  been  generously  forwarded  to 
help  on  the  work,  and  a  great  meeting  was  held  in  September, 
1867,  when  the  public  generally  had  an  opportunity  of  showing 
their  sympathy  with  the  proceedings.  Previously  to  that  large 
meeting  the  foundation-stones  of  three  of  the  houses  were  laid 
under  circumstances  of  more  than  usual  interest, 

Mrs.  Tyson,  a  lady  who  had  often  aided  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  the 
work  of  the  College,  and  in  other  enterprises,  had  been  spared 
to  see  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  her  marriage  day,  on  which 
occasion  her  beloved  husband,  a  wealthy  merchant,  presented  her 
with  $2,500.  This  money  the  lady  at  once  took  to  Mr.  Spurgeon 
to  be  dedicated  to  God  for  the  erection  of  one  of  the  orphan 
houses,  to  be  called  Silver-Wedding  House.  About  the  same 
time  a  merchant  in  the  City  called  upon  the  pastor  at  the  Taber- 
nacle, and,  after  transacting  some  business  with  him,  left  with  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  secretary  a  sealed  envelope,  in  which  was  $3,000,  to 
be  used  in  building  another  house,  which,  it  was  afterwards  deter- 
mined, should  be  called  Merchant's  House,  as  the  donor  refused 
to  have  his  name  given.  The  way  in  which  God  was  answering 
the  prayers  of  His  people  was  further  shown  by  an  offer  made 
by  the  workmen  who  had  built  the  Tabernacle  to  give  the  labor 
necessary  for  erecting  a  third  house,  whilst  their  employer  volun- 
teered to  give  the  necessary  material :  this  to  be  called  the 
Workmen's  House. 


Boys'  Home  —  Stockwell  OKPii.vNAr.E. 


STOCKWELL   ORPHANAGE.  209 

Such  manifest  tokens  of  the  divine  favor  attending  the  work 
greatly  encouraged  the  pastor  and  the  trustees,  and  on  Monday 
afternoon,  Aug.  9,  1867,  the  foundation-stones  of  the  three 
houses  named  were  laid,  —  one  by  Mrs.  Hillyard,  one  by  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  and  one  by  Mr.  Higgs.  The  scene  presented  at  Stock- 
well  on  that  day  was  exceedingly  picturesque  and  intensely  inter- 
esting. At  the  monster  tea-meeting  which  followed,  the  tables 
extended  three  hundred  and  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  the  bright 
sunshine  made  the  scene  one  of  joy  and  delight,  which  will  long 
be  remembered,  though  the  rain,  which  came  down  so  bountifully 
just  as  tea  was  over,  caused  much  discomfort.  The  subscriptions 
brought  in  that  day  reached  $12,000.  In  "The  Sword  and  the 
Trowel"  for  October  the  names  of  1,120  collectors  are  printed, 
with  the  amounts  on  their  cards,  stated  to  be  $14,010.  Amongst 
the  collectors  were  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  Congre- 
gationalists,  Methodists,  Baptists,  and  others,  so  general  had  been 
the  sympathy  which  was  felt  in  the  work. 

The  faith  of  the  pastor  and  trustees  of  the  Orphanage  was 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  wonderful  manner  in  which  God  had 
answered  their  prayers  and  rewarded  their  efforts.  It  was  an- 
nounced that  eight  houses  were  contemplated,  to  provide  for  not 
less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  orphans,  requiring  an  outlay  of 
$15,000  per  annum.  Messrs.  Olney  and  Sons  gave  $2,500  to  erect 
a  fourth  house,  to  be  called,  after  the  sainted  and  venerable  Mrs. 
Olney,  Unity  House. 

By  the  end  of  the  year  1867  the  trustees  had  no  less  than  two 
hundred  names  of  orphans  from  whom  to  select  fifty  in  the  follow- 
ing April.  The  pressing  need  of  providing  for  these  children  made 
the  way  more  easy  for  extending  the  work.  Accordingly,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Baptist  Union,  early  in  1868,  it  was  resolved  that 
an  effort  should  be  made  to  raise  the  funds  necessary  for  erecting 
two  houses,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000  each.  Whilst  these  efforts  were 
being  made  amongst  the  Baptists,  Mr.  Thomas  Olney,  as  the 
superintendent  of  the  Tabernacle  Sunday-school,  aided  by  the 
teachers  and  scholars,  was  collecting  the  funds  necessary  for  erect- 
ing a  house  to  represent  the  young  children.  Simultaneously 
with  that  effort  was  another  amongst  the  students  at  the  College, 

14 


2IO  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

who  had  resolved  to  show  their  affection  for  their  pastor  by  raising 
money  sufficient  to  erect  a  house  on  their  behalf,  and  to  perpetu- 
ate their  institution  by  having  it  named  the  College  House, 

Two  meetings  were  held  at  the  Orphanage  in  June,  1868;  one 
on  the  1st  of  June,  when  the  venerable  Thomas  Olney,  sr.,  laid 
the  foundation-stone  of  the  building  which  was  to  form  the  lecture 
and  dining-hall,  the  master's  house,  and  the  entrance  gateway.  It 
was  a  gladsome  sight  to  witness  the  joy  of  the  venerable  man, 
who  had  for  nearly  threescore  years  been  connected  with  the 
church  worshipping  at  the  Tabernacle,  as  he  performed  the 
pleasing  duty  assigned  to  him. 

On  the  same  day  the  Rev.  John  Aldis,  of  Reading,  and  Alex- 
ander B.  Goodall,  Esq.,  each  laid  one  of  the  foundation-stones 
of  the  two  Testimonial  Houses  subscribed  for  by  the  Baptist 
churches  as  a  token  of  regard  to  Mr.  Spurgeon.  A  monster  tea- 
meeting  followed  the  proceedings,  after  which  addresses  were 
delivered  by  the  Revs.  Thomas  Binney,  Dr.  Raleigh,  J.  T.  Wig- 
ner,  W.  Brock,  D.D.,  W.  Howieson,  A.  Mursell,  Henry  Varley, 
W.  Stott,  S.  H.  Booth,  G.  Gould,  J.  Raven,  J.  H.  Millard,  John 
Spurgeon,  sr.,  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  and  James  A.  Spurgeon.  Mr. 
Wigner  presented  to  the  pastor  an  address  of  affectionate  sym- 
pathy from  the  Baptist  churches,  which  was  signed  by  Mr.  Good- 
all  and  himself  on  behalf  of  the  subscribers  to  the  fund,  and  with 
the  address  was  the  sum  of  $6,000.  That  sum  was  afterwards 
increased  to  $8,720,  so  as  to  include  the  furniture  and  fittings 
for  the  two  houses,  that  the  offering  might  be  in  every  respect 
complete  in  all  its  parts. 

The  meeting  held  on  June  19th,  the  thirty-fourth  birthday  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon,  was,  if  possible,  a  more  joyous  and  enthusiastic  one 
than  any  of  the  preceding.  On  that  day  Mr.  Thomas  Olney,  jr., 
surrounded  by  a  huge  mass  of  children  forming  the  Tabernacle 
Sunday-schools,  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Sunday-school 
House,  amidst  the  enthusiastic  applause  of  the  delighted  children. 
It  was  a  time  of  joy  they  will  all  long  remember.  Dear  Mrs. 
Spurgeon,  so  long  a  suffering  invalid,  was  there  to  witness  the 
happiness  of  the  assembly,  and  by  request  from  the  students  at 
the  College,  and  the  ministers  who   had   gone   from  it,   she  was 


STOCKWELL   ORPiL\NAGE.  211 

induced  to  lay  the  foundation-stone  of  the  College  House.  She 
was  graciously  upheld  on  the  occasion,  although  the  surpassing 
kindness  displayed  was  enough  to  overcome  one  of  a  stronger 
frame.  After  the  stone-laying  was  over,  twenty-six  sweet  little 
girls  in  white  advanced  one  by  one,  and  presented  Mrs.  Spurgeon 
with  purses  which  their  parents  had  subscribed  as  a  token  of  their 
affectionate  rejoicing  at  her  temporary  restoration.  It  was  a 
touching,  beautiful,  and  unexpected  sight,  which  deserves  to  be 
recorded.  A  large  sum  of  money  was  presented  to  Mr.  Spurgeon 
as  a  birthday  offering,  ivJiicJi  he  put  into  the  OrpJianage  treasury. 

Another  incident  occurred  at  that  period  which  deserves  to  be 
placed  on  record.  The  Baptist  church  at  Liverpool,  over  which 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Stowell  Brown  presides,  was  about  to  be  re- 
opened, and  Mr.  Spurgeon  consented  to  preach  the  sermons. 
He  did  so :  but  the  church  and  congregation  resolved  to  defray 
the  cost  of  the  repairs,  and  gave  to  Mr.  Spurgeon  for  the  Orphan- 
age the  whole  of  the  collection,  which  amounted  to  $1,250. 

The  manner  in  which  the  funds  have  been  contributed,  first  to 
erect  the  Orphanage  buildings,  and  since  then  to  maintain  the 
children  and  officers,  and  keep  the  whole  establishment  in  con- 
tinuous operation,  most  clearly  indicates  that  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  work,  up  to  the  present  time,  the  hand  of  God  has 
been  directing  the  whole. 

Each  house  was  occupied  as  soon  as  it  was  finished ;  but  unable 
to  wait  until  the  first  was  ready,  so  soon  as  the  plan  of  the  Or- 
phanage was  matured  and  trustees  appointed,  four  orphans  were 
selected  and  placed  under  the  charge  of  a  sister  in  her  own  house. 
'As  money  came  in  others  were  added  to  them.  To  manifest  still 
further  the  interest  which  Mrs.  Hillyard  took  in  the  work,  when 
she  found  several  orphans  already  in  charge  of  a  matron,  she  sold 
some  household  plate  to  give  the  money  for  their  support.  Thus 
encouraged,  by  the  month  of  July,  1867,  before  the  foundation- 
stones  were  actually  laid,  seven  boys  were  chosen  by  the  trustees 
as  a  commencement.  It  was  wonderful  how  the  mo'ney  was  sent 
in.  One  day,  just  as  Mr.  Spurgeon  finished  his  sermon  in  the 
open  air,  a  lady  put  into  his  hand  an  envelope  containing  $100 
for  the  Orphanage  and  $100  for  the  College.     In  January,  1868, 


212  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  announced  in  his  magazine  that  an  unknown  gentle- 
man had  given  him  $5,000  towards  two  of  the  houses.  In  March 
another  sum  of  $5,000  was  announced,  and  in  June  the  Baptist 
churches  sent  in  $6,000.  In  September,  a  year  after  the  work 
began,  a  great  bazaar  was  held,  which  brought  in  a  net  profit  of 
$7,000.  How  many  loving  hearts  and  willing  hands  were  em- 
ployed to  bring  about  such  a  result,  it  would  be  impossible  to  tell, 
though  there  were  but  few  of  the  eleven  hundred  collectors,  who 
so  nobly  came  forward  at  the  first  meeting  a  year  before,  who 
did  not  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  bazaar.  By  the  end  of  the 
year  the  president  announced  in  his  magazine  that  only  $5,000 
more  was  required  to  complete  the  eight  houses,  "  and  this,"  says 
he,  "  will  surely  be  sent  in ;  for  the  Lord  will  provide."  And  so  it 
came  to  pass. 

In  January,  1869,  fifty  children  had  been  chosen  to  occupy  the 
houses  as  soon  as  they  should  be  ready,  but  up  to  the  month  of  June 
only  twenty-nine  orphans  were  in  residence.  The  chief  difiiculty 
which  for  some  time  had  given  anxiety  to  the  trustees  was  to  find 
a  suitable  superintendent.  Several  persons  had  presented  them- 
selves, but  not  one  had  satisfied  the  claims  of  the  institution. 
When  the  difficulty  seemed  to  be  the  greatest,  Divine  Providence 
sent  the  right  man.  Vernon  J.  Charlesworth,  who  had  been  for 
seven  years  co-pastor  at  Surrey  Chapel  with  Newman  Hall,  offered 
his  services,  and  they  were  accepted.  Mr.  Charlesworth  was  at 
once  appointed :  and  the  ability  which  he  has  manifested  in 
managing  the  affairs  of  the  institution  is  very  satisfactory  evi- 
dence that  he  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  By  his 
influence  within  the  Orphanage,  and  by  his  pen  outside,  he  has 
shown  himself  to  be  the  orphan's  friend. 

Up  to  the  spring  of  the  year  1870  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
orphans  had  been  admitted,  six  of  whom  had  been  removed, 
leaving  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  in  residence.  In  1877  the 
resident  orphans  numbered  two  hundred  and  thirty. 

Each  of  the  eight  houses  forms  a  separate  family,  that  plan  having 
after  mature  consideration  been  resolved  upon  as  the  best.  Each 
family  is  complete  in  its  own  arrangements ;  each  dwelling  having 
a  large  sitting  and  four  lofty  bed-rooms  for  the  boys,  with  lockers, 


STOCKVVELL   ORPHANAGE.  213 

which,  when  closed,  form  handy  seats  in  the  middle  of  the  room ; 
and  a  sitting-room,  bed-room,  and  kitchen  for  the  matron  in 
charge.  A  large  covered  play-room  adjoins  the  houses  on  the 
east,  and  separate  from  that  is  the  infirmary,  forming  the  east 
end  of  the  quadrangle.  At  the  west  end  is  the  school-room  and 
dining-hall,  the  master's  house  and  entrance  gateway :  and  in  the 
rear  of  the  dining-hall  is  the  suite  of  offices  for  cooking  and  other 
domestic  purposes. 

In  selecting  the  most  needy  boys  for  the  benefits  of  the  institu- 
tion, the  trustees  are  in  no  way  influenced  by  the  religious  opinions 
of  their  parents.  Those  showing  the  most  pressing  want  have  the 
preference. 

A  judicious  writer  has  said  of  the  Stockwell  Orphanage:  "How 
superior  any  real  approach  to  the  family  ideal  is  to  the  barrack 
system  was  apparent  to  us  on  a  mere  glance  at  these  fatherless 
lads.  The  families  are  large,  about  thirty  boys  in  each  house; 
but  they  are  under  the  care  of  affectionate  and  diligent  matrons, 
and  everything  is  done  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  parental 
rule  and  training.  There  is  more  of  the  '  home '  than  of  the 
'  institution '  in  the  atmosphere.  To  encourage  home  ideas,  and 
for  the  sake  of  industrial  training,  the  boys  in  turn  assist  in  the 
domestic  work  during  the  morning  of  the  day;  each  boy's  period 
of  service  being  restricted  to  one  week  in  six,  servants  being 
entirely  dispensed  with.  A  working  cook  superintends  the  kitchen, 
aided  by  the  boys.  No  regimental  uniform  is  suffered.  The  boys 
differ  in  the  clothes  they  wear,  in  the  cut  of  the  hair,  and  show 
all  the  variety  of  a  large  family.  The  boys  do  not  look  like 
loosely  connected  members  of  a  huge  and  miscellaneous  crowd, 
but  sons  and  brothers.  No  traces  of  ill-disguised  dissatisfaction, 
as  though  in  perpetual  restraint,  always  under  orders,  were 
apparent;  but  a  free,  healthy,  and  vigorous  homeliness,  as  if 
under  the  genial  and  robust  influence  of  love,  made  itself  every- 
where manifest.  With  all  the  care  of  a  Christian  father,  situations 
are  chosen  for  the  lads,  where  their  spiritual  interests  will  not  be 
in  danger;  and  when  they  have  been  passed  into  them  the  master 
corresponds  with  them,  and  gives  them  counsel  and  assistance 
as  they  need.     Like  a   true   home,  its  benediction   follows  every 


214  '^FE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

inmate  throughout  his  Hfe.  We  were  specially  pleased  with  our 
visit  to  the  school.  The  boys  are  well  drilled  in  elementary 
knowledge,  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  grammar,  history,  geogra- 
phy, vocal  music,  Latin,  shorthand,  science  of  common  things, 
and  Scripture.  A  French  class  is  held  for  the  elder  boys.  Mili- 
tary drill  is  given  daily.  Drawing  is  successfully  taught,  and 
many  boys  excel  in  it.  The  singing-class  did  very  great  credit 
to  its  instructor,  —  singing  at  sight,  with  great  accuracy  and 
sweetness,  music  of  some  difficulty."  Two  of  H.  M.  Inspectors 
were  deputed  from  the  Local  Government  Board  to  visit  the 
institution,  and  they  gave  the  following  report,  which  reflects  the 
highest  credit  upon  Mr.  Spurgeon  for  his  wisdom  and  prudence: 
"  An  admirable  institution,  good  in  design,  and,  if  possible,  better 
in  execution." 

The  children  are  admitted  between  the  ages  of  six  and  ten 
years,  and  they  remain  until  they  arc  fourteen.  From  an  abstract 
drawn  up  by  the  master  in  1873  it  was  found  that  the  creeds  of 
the  parents  of»  the  children  admitted  to  that  date  were  in  the 
following  proportions :  sixty-nine  were  members  of  the  Church 
of  England ;  twenty-six  Independent;  nineteen  Wesleyan ;  fifty- 
one  Baptist;  four  Presbyterian;  one  Catholic;  and  thirty-five 
made  no  profession  of  religion. 

In  the  management  of  the  Orphanage  will  be  found  one  of  its 
chief  attractions,  and  one  which  ought  to  commend  its  plans  to 
other  similar  institutions.  The  author  of  a  book  called  "  Con- 
trasts "  cites  the  Stockwell  School  as  a  specimen  of  admirable 
administration,  proving  that  large  expenditure  in  some  public 
institutions  does  not  guarantee  thorough  satisfaction.  In  some 
orphan  schools  and  pauper  schools  the  rate  of  expense  per  head 
is  from  one  hundred  and  fifteen  to  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
dollars,  whilst  in  the  Stockwell  Orphanage,  with  complete  organ- 
ization and  highly  satisfactory  results  in  each  department,  the 
cost  is  only  seventy-two  dollars  per  head,  inclusive  of  every- 
thing. This  is  the  highest  testimonial  which  could  be  given  of 
its   efficiency. 

Looking  over  the  list  of  applications  which  are  entered  in  the 
books  at  Stockwell,  it  was  ascertained  that  two  only  out  of  every 


STOCKWELL   ORPHANAGE.  21  5 

dozen  cases  could  be  received.  What  becomes  of  the  other  ten? 
"  Think  of  widows,  some  of  them  sickly  and  unable  to  work,  with 
four  or  five  children  ;  families  of  orphans  deprived  of  both  parents ; 
and  yet  the  Stockwell  trustees  had  to  decline  them  because  there 
were  more  necessitous  cases.  But  there  was  one  comfort,  they 
had  not  to  pay  any  election  expenses."  On  that  subject  Mr. 
Spurgeon  has  written  the  following  judicious  remarks:  "No 
widow  ever  goes  away  lamenting  over  time,  labor,  and  money 
spent  in  vain.  The  worst  that  can  happen  is  to  be  refused  because 
there  is  no  room,  or  her  case  is  not  so  bad  as  that  of  others. 
Not  a  shilling  will  have  been  spent  in  purchasing  votes,  no  time 
lost  in  canvassing,  no  cringing  to  obtain  patronage.  Her  case  is 
judged  on  its  merits,  and  the  most  necessitous  wins  the  day.  We 
have  now  so  many  applicants  and  so  few  vacancies,  that  women 
with  two  or  three  children  are  advised  not  to  apply,  for  while 
there  are  others  with  five,  six,  or  seven  children  depending  upon 
them,  they  cannot  hope  to  succeed."  A  dozen  orphanages  as 
large  as  the  one  at  Stockwell  could  be  filled  at  once  with  children 
needing  such  help. 

The  economy  with  which  the  Orphanage  has  been  managed 
has  excited  the  admiration  of  many  who  are  familiar  with  the 
details  of  kindred  institutions.  Those  who  honor  Mr.  Spurgeon 
with  their  contributions  make  a  good  investment,  and  will  share 
in  the  blessedness  of  the  return.  The  office  expenses  are  reduced 
to  a  minimum,  and  no  paid  canvassers  are  employed.  Offerings 
find  their  way  into  the  exchequer  from  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and 
though  at  times  there  has  been  a  little  tightness  felt,  the  children 
have  never  lacked  a  meal.  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  a  man  of  unwavering 
faith  in  the  living  God,  and  though  his  faith  has  been  put  to  the 
severest  test,  it  has  never  failed  him.  Friends  who  have  not  been 
able  to  give  money  have  sent  gifts  in  kind.  Flour  and  potatoes, 
meat  and  preserves,  are  always  gladly  received.  One  manufac- 
turer has  given  all  the  coverlets  for  the  beds,  and  the  proprietors 
and  pupils  of  a  young  ladies'  school  have  endeavored  to  keep 
the  boys  supplied  with  shirts. 

The  Orphanage  has  now  existed  long  enough  to  form  a  correct 
opinion  of  its  merits  in  every  department.      Mundrcds    of  boys 


2l6  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

have  left  the  school  and  entered  on  the  duties  of  life.  The  reports 
which  have  been  received  annually  from  those  business  men  who 
have  taken  them  have  been  most  gratifying.  With  few  excep- 
tions, those  who  have  left  keep  up  communication  with  the  home. 
Summing  up  these  results,  a  recent  report  says :  "  Almost  every 
boy  who  has  gone  into  a  situation  has  given  satisfaction.  Where 
failure  has  occurred  it  has  arisen  from  a  craving  for  the  sea,  or  from 
the  interference  of  an  unwise  mother.  Some  of  the  lads  are  in 
good  positions,  and  command  the  esteem  of  their  employers." 

Nearly  all  the  boys  have  sent  a  portion  of  their  first  earnings 
as  a  donation  to  the  Orphanage,  in  sums  varying  from  one  dollar 
to  five  dollars,  thus  manifesting  a  spirit  of  gratitude.  Some  of 
the  letters  received  from  them  are  read  to  the  boys,  and  produce 
on  their  minds  beneficial  results.  Many  of  the  boys  have,  before 
they  have  left,  become  decided  Christians,  and  some  have  made 
public  confession  of  their  faith  by  baptism.  The  head  master 
himself  was  publicly  baptized  in  1874,  and  five  of  the  boys  joined 
him  in  the  same  act  of  dedication.  Others  have  become  members 
of  Christian  churches  in  the  towns  and  villages  where  they  have 
gone  to  reside.  One  of  the  first  boys  converted  is  now  devoting 
his  evenings  and  Sundays  to  missionary  work  in  South  London, 
and  showed  so  much  talent  for  preaching  that  he  was  received 
into  the  College  in  January,  1876. 

It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  record  that  the  health  of  the 
inmates  has  been  graciously  maintained,  with  but  little  interrup- 
tion, through  the  several  years  of  its  existence.  A  few  who 
entered  in  feeble  health  have  fallen  into  consumption  and  died, 
although  the  locality  is  most  favorable  to  health.  Of  those  who 
have  died,  it  is  pleasing  to  have  to  record  that  their  youthful 
spirits  passed  away  trusting  in  Jesus. 

The  1875  anniversary  of  the  schools  was  held  at  the  Orphanage 
on  the  pastor's  birthday,  June  19th,  which  was  preceded  by  a 
bazaar.  The  attendance  was  so  numerous  that  it  was  necessary 
to  hold  two  public  meetings  to  accommodate  the  large  number 
of  persons  present.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  was  present,  and 
spoke  at  both  the  services.  The  contributions  added  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars  to  the  funds. 


XVII. 
ANNUAL    REPORT,    1881. 


In  dibbling  beans  the  old  practice  was  to  put  three  in  each  hole:  one  for 
the  worm,  one  for  the  crow,  and  one  to  Hve  and  produce  the  crop.  In  teaching 
children,  we  must  give  line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept,  repeating  the 
truth  which  we  would  inculcate,  till  it  becomes  impossible  for  the  child  to  for- 
get it.  We  may  well  give  the  lesson  once,  expecting  the  child's  frail  memory 
to  lose  it;  twice,  reckoning  that  the  devil,  like  an  ill  bird,  will  steal  it;  thrice, 
hoping  that  it  will  take  root  downward,  and  bring  forth  iVuit  upward  to  the  glory 
of  God.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


ANNUAL    REPORT. 


I 


N  issuing  the  twelfth  annual  report  of  the  Stockwell  Orphanage 
the  Committee  write  :  — 


With  profound  gratitude  to  our  Heavenly  Father  we  issue  the 
Twelfth  Report  of  the  Stockwell  Orphanage,  and  our  gratitude 
will  be  shared,  we  doubt  not,  by  all  who  have  given  of  their  sub- 
stance towards  the  maintenance  and  development  of  the  institu- 
tion. We  therefore  invite  all  our  readers  to  "  rejoice  with  us " 
in  the  tokens  of  the  divine  favor  which  have  crowned  our  labors 
during  another  year.  "  The  Lord  hath  been  mindful  of  us :  He 
will  bless  us." 

When  we  remember  how  this  gracious  work  began  by  the  con- 
secrated thought  of  a  holy  woman,  and  then  grew  into  an  actual 
gift  from  her  hand,  and  further  developed,  by  the  large  help  ot 
others,  into  houses  and  schools,  infirmary  and  dining-hall,  and  all 
manner  of  provision  for  destitute  children,  we  feel  bound  to  cry, 
"  What  hath  God  wrought !  "  Our  God  has  supplied  all  our 
need  according  to  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus.  The  story 
of  the  Stockwell  Orphanage  will  be  worth  telling  in  heaven  when 
the  angels  shall  learn  from  the  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  Lord.  Incidents  which  could  not  be  published 
on  earth  will  be  made  known  in  the  heavenly  city,  where  every 
secret  thing  shall  be  revealed.  How  every  need  has  been  sup- 
plied before  it  has  become  a  want;  how  guidance  has  been  given 
before  questions  have  become  anxieties ;  how  friends  have  been 
raised  up  in  unbroken  succession,  and  how  the  One  Great  Friend 


220  LIFE  AND   LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEOX. 

has  been  ever  present,  no  single  pen  can  ever  record.  To  care 
for  the  fatherless  lias  been  a  work  of  joyful  faith  all  along,  and  in 
waiting  upon  God  for  supplies  we  have  experienced  great  delight. 
The  way  of  faith  in  God  is  the  best  possible.  We  could  not  have 
carried  on  the  work  by  a  method  more  pleasant,  more  certain, 
more  enduring.  If  we  had  depended  upon  annual  subscribers 
we  should  have  had  to  hunt  them  up  and  pay  a  heavy  poundage, 
or  perhaps  fail  to  keep  up  the  roll ;  if  we  had  advertised  contin- 
ually for  funds  our  outlay  might  have  brought  in  a  scanty  return  ; 
but  dependence  upon  God  has  been  attended  with  no  such  haz- 
ards. We  have  done  our  best  as  men  of  business  to  keep  the 
Orphanage  before  the  public,  but  we  have  desired  in  all  things 
to  exercise  faith  as  servants  of  God.  Whatever  weakness  we  have 
personally  to  confess  and  deplore,  there  is  no  weakness  in  the 
plan  of  faith  in  God.  Our  experience  Compels  us  to  declare  that 
He  is  the  living  God ;  the  God  that  hearcth  prayer ;  the  God  who 
will  never  permit  those  who  trust  in  Him  to  be  confounded.  The 
business  world  has  passed  through  trying  times  during  the  last  few 
years,  but  the  Orphanage  has  not  been  tried ;  men  of  great  enter- 
prise have  failed,  but  the  home  for  the  fatherless  has  not  failed  ;  for 
this  enterprise  is  in  the  divine  hand,  an  eye  watches  over  it  which 
neither  slumbers  nor  sleeps. 

Let  the  people  of  God  be  encouraged  by  the  fact  of  the  exist- 
ence and  prosperity  of  the  Stockwell  Orphanage.  Miracles  have 
come  to  an  end,  but  God  goes  on  to  work  great  wonders :  the  rod 
of  Moses  is  laid  aside,  but  the  rod  and  staff  of  the  Great  Shepherd 
still  compass  us. 

The  son  of  an  old  Puritan  rode  some  twenty  miles  to  meet 
his  father,  who  came  a  similar  distance  to  the  half-way  house. 
"  Father,"  said  the  son,  "  I  have  met  with  a  special  providence, 
for  my  horse  stumbled  at  least  a  dozen  times,  and  yet  it  did  not 
fall."  "  Ah  !  "  replied  the  father.  "  I  have  had  a  providence  quite 
as  remarkable,  for  my  horse  did  not  stumble  once  all  the  way." 
This  last  is  the  happy  picture  of  the  Orphanage  for  some  time 
past,  and  indeed  throughout  its  whole  career :  we  have  never  had 
to  issue  mournful  appeals  because  of  exhausted  resources,  and  in 
this  we  must  see  and  admire  the  "-ood  hand  of  the  Lord. 


ANNUAL   REPORT,    I  88 1, 


221 


We  now  enter  more  fully  upon  a  fresh  stage  of  our  existence; 
we  shall  need  to  double  the  amount  of  our  present  income,  and 
we  shall  have  it  from  the  ever-opened  hand  of  the  Lord  our  God. 
Friends  will  be  moved  to  think  of  our  great  family,  for  our  Great 


ONE   OF   THE   SCHOOL-ROOMS. 

Remembrancer  will  stir  them  up.  The  duty  of  each  Christian  to 
the  mass  of  destitute  orphanhood  is  clear  enough,  and  if  pure 
minds  are  stirred  up  by  way  of  remembrance  there  will  be  no  lack 
in  the  larder,  no  want  in  the  wardrobe,  no  failing  in  the  funds  of 
our  Orphan  House. 

We  labor  under  one  great  difficulty :  many  people  say,  "  Mr. 
Spurgeon  will  be  sure  to  get  the  money,  and  there  is  no  need  for 
us  to  send."     It  is  clear  that  if  everybody  talked  so,  our  presi- 


222  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

dent's  name  would  be  a  hindrance  instead  of  a  help.  He  will  be 
the  means  of  finding  money  for  our  institution,  for  the  Lord  will 
honor  his  faith  and  hear  his  prayers,  and  be  glorified  in  him ;  but 
there  will  be  no  thanks  due  to  those  who  fabricate  an  excuse  for 
themselves  out  of  the  faithfulness  of  God.  This  difficulty,  how- 
ever, does  not  distress  us :  we  go  forward  believing  that  when  we 
have  twice  our  present  number  of  children  the  Lord  will  send  us 
double  supplies ;  we  cannot  entertain  the  suspicion  that  the  girls 
will  be  left  without  their  portion,  for  we,  being  evil,  care  as  much 
for  our  daughters  as  for  our  sons,  and  our  Heavenly  Father  will 
do  the  same.  It  is  well,  however,  to  remind  our  friends  of  this, 
that  each  helper  of  the  Orphanage  may  try  to  interest  another 
generous  heart,  and  so  enlarge  the  circle  of  our  friends.  It  may 
be  that  by  such  means  the  Great  Provider  will  supply  us ;  for  we 
know  that  when  our  Lord  fed  the  multitude  He  first  said  to  His 
disciples,  "  Give  ye  them  to  eat." 

The  sanitary  condition  of  the  Orphanage  has  been  all  that  we 
could  desire.  Considering  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  chil- 
dren come  to  us  in  a  delicate  condition,  and  some  with  the  taint 
of  hereditary  disease,  it  is  a  matter  for  devout  thankfulness  that 
their  general  health  is  so  good,  and  that  so  few  deaths  have 
occurred.  Out  of  the  entire  number  who  have  left,  only  one  boy 
was  unable  to  enter  upon  a  situation  in  consequence  of  an  enfee- 
bled constitution.  VVe  owe  it  to  an  ever-watchful  Providence  that, 
during  the  prevailing  epidemic,  not  a  single  case  of  fever  or  small- 
pox has  occurred  in  the  institution. 

Family  worship  is  conducted  twice  daily,  before  the  morning 
and  evening  meals,  by  the  head  master  or  his  assistants,  the 
service  being  taken  occasionally  by  the  president,  or  a  member 
of  the  committee,  or  a  visitor  to  the  institution  who  may  happen 
to  be  present.  The  Word  of  God  is  read  and  expounded,  hymns 
sung,  and  prayer  offered,  and  the  whole  of  the  boys  repeat  a  text 
selected  for  the  day.  A  service  is  conducted  for  the  elder  boys 
every  Wednesday  evening  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Evans,  when  addresses 
are  given  by  ministers  and  other  friends. 

During  their  term  of  residence  in  the  institution  all  the  boys 
are  total  abstainers,  no  alcoholic  liquors  being  allowed  except  by 


ANNUAL   REPORT,    1 88 1.  223 

order  of  the  doctor,  but  most  of  them  are  pledged  abstainers, 
with  the  approval  of  their  friends.  Band  of  Hope  meetings  are 
held  every  month,  when  the  children  receive  instruction  from 
competent  speakers ;  and  lectures  are  given  at  intervals  during 
the  winter  months. 

The  operations  of  the  institution  reveal  to  the  managers  the 
wide-spread  necessity  which  exists.  The  cry  of  the  orphan  comes 
from  every  part  of  our  beloved  land,  and  the  plea  of  the  widow 
for  Christian  sympathy  and  help  is  restricted  to  no  one  class  of 
the  community.  Faces  once  radiant  with  smiles  are  saddened 
with  grief,  for  the  dark  shadow  which  death  casts  falls  everywhere. 
How  true  are  the  lines  of  the  poet :  — 

"  There  is  no  fireside,  howsoe'er  defended, 
But  has  one  vacant  chair." 

It  is  a  constant  joy  to  the  president  and  the  committee  that 
they  are  able  to  mitigate  to  such  a  large  extent  the  misery  and 
need  which  are  brought  under  their  notice;  and  it  must  be  an 
equal  joy  to  the  subscribers  to  know  that  their  loving  contribu- 
tions furnish  the  sinews  for  this  holy  war. 

As  our  Sunday-school  is  affiliated  to  the  Sunday-school  Union, 
we  allow  the  boys  who  desire  to  do  so  to  sit  for  examination.  Of 
the  candidates  who  were  successful  at  the  last  examination,  three 
gained  prizes,  twelve  first-class  certificates,  and  thirty-eight  second- 
class  certificates. 

During  the  year  the  boys  took  part  in  the  Crystal  Palace 
Musical  Festivals  arranged  by  the  Band  of  Hope  Union  and  the 
Tonic  Sol-fa  Association. 

In  order  to  make  the  character  and  claims  of  the  institution 
more  widely  known,  the  head  master  and  the  secretary  have  held 
meetings  in  London  and  the  provinces,  and  the  success  which  has 
crowned  their  efforts  is  of  a  very  gratifying  character.  The  boys 
who  accompany  them  to  sing  and  to  recite  furnish  a  powerful 
appeal  by  their  appearance  and  conduct,  and  commend  the  insti- 
tution to  which  they  owe  so  much.  The  local  papers  speak  in 
terms  of  the  highest  praise  of  their  services,  and  thus  a  most 
effective  advertisement  is  secured  without  any  cost  to  the  institu- 


224  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

tion.  So  far  as  the  boys  are  concerned  these  trips  have  an  educa- 
tional value,  for  they  get  to  know  a  great  deal  of  the  products 
and  industries  of  different  parts  of  the  country,  besides  securing 
the  advantage  of  being  brought  into  contact  with  Christian  families 
where  they  reside  during  their  visit. 

The  amount  realized  during  the  year,  after  defraying  all  ex- 
penses, is  $3,320,  and  our  thanks  are  hereby  tendered  to  all  who 
assisted  in  any  way  to  secure  such  a  splendid  result. 

The  committee  record  with  thankfulness  that  there  has  been 
no  lack  in  the  funds  contributed  for  the  efficient  maintenance  of 
the  institution.  Friends  prefer  to  give  donations  rather  than 
pledge  themselves  to  send  annual  subscriptions,  and  the  benevo- 
lence thus  manifested  is  purely  spontaneous.  The  admirable 
custom  of  making  shirts  for  the  boys  is  still  continued  by  the 
young  ladies  of  an  educational  establishment,  who  send  in  a  sup- 
ply of  two  hundred  shirts  every  year.  Their  efforts  are  supple- 
mented by  several  working  associations,  but  the  supply  is  not  yet 
equal  to  the  demand,  and  we  cordially  invite  the  co-operation  of 
others,  to  whom  we  shall  be  glad  to  send  samples  and  patterns. 

The  work  of  caring  for  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  is  specially 
mentioned  by  the  Holy  Spirit  as  one  of  the  most  acceptable 
modes  of  giving  outward  expression  to  pure  religion  and  undefiled 
before  God  and  the  Father,  and  therefore  the  Lord's  people  will 
not  question  that  they  should  help  in  carrying  it  out.  Will  it 
need  much  pleading?  If  so,  we  cannot  use  it,  as  we  shrink  from 
marring  the  willinghood  which  is  the  charm  of  such  a  service. 
The  work  is  carried  on  in  dependence  upon  God,  and  as  His 
blessing  evidently  rests  upon  it,  we  are  confident  the  means  will 
be  forthcoming  as  the  need  arises.  While  commending  the  work 
to  our  Heavenly  Father  in  prayer,  we  deem  it  right  to  lay  before 
the  stewards  of  His  bounty  the  necessities  and  claims  of  the 
institution. 

The  year  1880  will  be  a  memorable  one  in  the  history  of  the 
institution,  and  we  record  with  gratitude  the  fact  that  the  founda- 
tion-stones of  the  first  four  houses  for  the  Girls'  Orphanage  were 
laid  on  the  22d  of  June,  when  the  president's  birthday  was 
celebrated.     It  was  a  joy  to  all  present  that  Mrs.  Spurgeon  was 


ANNUAL   REPORT,    1881.  225 

able  to  lay  the  memorial  stone  of  "  The  Sermon  House,  the 
gift  of  C.  H.  Spurgeon  and  his  esteemed  pubhshers,  Messrs. 
Passmore  and  Alabaster."  The  memorial  stone  of  another  house, 
the  gift  of  Mr.  W.  R.  Rickett,  and  called  "The  Limes,  in  tender 
memory  of  five  beloved  children,"  was  laid  b}'  C.  H.  Spurgeon, 
who  made  a  touching  allusion  to  the  sad  event  thus  commemo- 
rated. Mrs.  Samuel  Barrow  laid  the  memorial  stone  of  the  house 
called  "  The  Olives,"  the  amount  for  its  erection  having  been 
given  and  collected  by  her  beloved  husband.  The  trustees  of  the 
institution  having  subscribed  the  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  house, 
the  treasurer,  Mr.  William  Higgs,  laid,  in  their  name,  the  memorial 
stone  which  bears  the  inscription,  "  Erected  by  the  Trustees  of  the 
Orphanage  to  express  their  joy  in  this  service  of  love." 

At  the  present  moment  the  buildings  of  the  Orphanage  form  a 
great  square,  enclosing  a  fine  space  for  air  and  exercise.  Visitors 
generally  express  great  surprise  at  the  beauty  and  openness  of 
the  whole  establishment.  Much  remains  to  be  done  before  the 
institution  is  completely  accommodated ;  there  is  needed  an 
infirmary  for  the  girls,  and  till  that  is  built  one  of  the  houses 
will  have  to  be  used  for  that  purpose,  thus  occupying  the  space 
which  would  otherwise  be  filled  by  thirty  or  forty  children :  this 
should  be  attended  to  at  an  early  date.  Baths  and  washhouses 
will  be  urgently  required  for  the  girls,  and  we  propose  to  make 
them  sufficiently  commodious  for  the  girls  to  do  the  washing  for 
the  entire  community  of  five  hundred  children,  thus  instructing 
them  in  household  duties  and  saving  a  considerable  expense. 
We  would  not  spend  a  sixpence  needlessly.  No  money  has  been 
wasted  in  lavish  ornament  or  in  hideous  ugliness.  The  buildings 
are  not  a  workhouse  or  a  county  jail,  but  a  pleasant  residence  for 
those  children  of  whom  God  declares  Himself  to  be  the  Father. 
The  additional  buildings  which  we  contemplate  are  not  for  luxury, 
but  for  necessary  uses ;  and  as  we  endeavor  to  lay  out  money 
with  judicious  economy,  we  feel  sure  that  we  shall  be  trusted  in 
the  future  as  in  the  past. 

Are  there  not  friends  waiting  to  take  a  share  in  the  Stockwell 
Orphanage  Building?  They  cannot  better  commemorate  personal 
blessings,  nor  can  they  find  a  more  suitable  memorial  for  departed 

IS 


226  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

friends.  No  storied  urn  or  animated  bust  can  half  so  well  record 
the  memory  of  beloved  ones  as  a  stone  in  an  Orphan  House. 
Most  of  the  buildings  are  already  appropriated  as  memorials  in 
some  form  or  other,  and  only  a  few  more  will  be  needed.  Very 
soon  all  building  operations  will  be  complete,  and  those  who  have 
lost  the  opportunity  of  becoming  shareholders  in  the  Home  of 
Mercy  may  regret  their  delay.  At  any  rate,  none  who  place  a 
stone  in  the  walls  of  the  Stockwell  Orphanage  will  ever  lament 
that  they  did  this  deed  of  love  to  the  little  ones  for  whom  Jesus 
cares.  Honored  names  are  with  us  already  engraven  upon  the 
stones  of  this  great  Hostelry  of  the  All-merciful ;  and  many  others 
are  our  co-workers  whose  record  is  on  high,  though  unknown 
among  men.  Who  will  be  the  next  to  join  us  in  this  happy 
labor? 

When  the  whole  of  the  buildings  are  complete,  the  institution 
will  afford  accommodation  for  five  hundred  children,  and  prove  a 
memorial  of  Christian  generosity  and  of  the  loving-kindness  of 
the  Lord. 

The  next  brief  chapter,  on  "  The  Girls'  Orphange,"  is  from  the 
pen  of  Mr.  Spurgeon. 


XVIII. 
THE    GIRLS'    ORPHANAGE. 


He  who  is  the  feeder  of  sparrows  will  also  furnish  you  with  what  you  need. 
Sit  not  down  in  despair;  hope  on,  hope  ever.  Take  up  the  arms  of  faith 
against  a  sea  of  fears,  "and  by  opposing  end  them."  There  is  One  above 
who  cares  for  you,  though  all  men  deny  you  sympathy.  He  gave  His  Son  to 
redeem  you,  and  He  will  not  suffer  His  redeemed  to  be  famished.  He  will 
hear  your  cry.     At  any  rate,  try  Him  and  see.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THE    GIRLS'    ORPHANAGE. 


IN  our  address  at  the  presentation  of  the  late  testimonial,  we 
disclaimed  all  personal  credit  for  the  existence  of  any  one  of 
the  enterprises  over  which  we  preside,  because  each  one  of  them 
has  been  forced  upon  us.  "  I  could  not  help  undertaking  them," 
was  our  honest  and  just  confession.  This  is  literally  true,  and 
another  illustration  of  this  fact  is  now  to  come  before  the  Chris- 
tian public.  Several  of  us  have  long  cherished  the  idea  that  the 
time  would  come  in  which  we  should  have  an  Orphanage  for  girls 
as  well  as  for  boys.  It  would  be  hard  to  conceive  why  this  should 
not  be.  It  seems  ungallant,  not  to  say  unrighteous,  to  provide 
for  children  of  one  sex  only,  for  are  not  all  needy  little  ones  dear 
to  Christ,  with  whom  there  is  neither  male  nor  female?  We  do 
not  like  to  do  such  things  by  halves,  and  it  is  but  half  doing  the 
thing  to  leave  the  girls  out  in  the  cold.  We  have  all  along  wished 
to  launch  out  in  the  new  direction,  but  we  had  quite  enough  on 
hand  for  the  time  being,  and  were  obliged  to  wait.  The  matter 
has  been  thought  of,  and  talked  about,  and  more  than  half  prom- 
ised, but  nothing  has  come  of  it  till  this  present,  and  now,  as  we 
believe  zX  the  exact  moment,  the  hour  has  struck,  and  the  voice  of 
God  in  providence  says,  "  Go  forward."  The  fund  for  the  Girls' 
Orphanage  has  commenced,  and  there  are  about  a  dozen  names 
upon  the  roll  at  the  moment  of  our  writing.  The  work  will  be 
carried  on  with  vigor  as  the  Lord  shall  be  pleased  to  send  the 
means,  but  it  will  not  be  unduly  pushed  upon  any  one  so  as  to  be 
regarded  as  a  new  burden,  for  we  want  none  but  cheerful  helpers, 
who  will  count  it  a  privilege  to  have  a  share  in  the  good  work. 


230  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

We  shall  employ  no  collector  to  make  a  percentage  by  dunning 
the  unwilling,  and  shall  make  no  private  appeals  to  individuals. 
There  is  the  case :  if  it  be  a  good  one  and  you  are  able  to  help  it, 
please  do  so ;  but  if  you  have  no  wish  in  that  direction,  our  Lord's 
work  does  not  require  us  to  go  a  begging  like  a  pauper,  and  we  do 
not  intend  to  do  so. 

We  have  never  been  in  debt  yet,  nor  have  we  had  a  mortgage  upon 
any  of  our  buildings,  nor  have  we  eveii  borrowed  motiey  for  a  time, 
but  we  have  always  beeti  able  to  pay  as  we  have  gone  on.  Our 
prayer  is  that  we  may  never  have  to  come  down  to  a  lower 
platform  and  commence  borrowing. 

It  has  often  happened  that  we  have  been  unable  to  assist  widows 
in  necessitous  circumstances  with  large  families,  because  there  did 
not  happen  to  be  a  boy  of  the  special  age  required  by  the  rules  of 
our  Boys'  Orphanage.  There  were  several  girls,  but  then  we  could 
not  take  girls,  and  however  deserving  the  case,  we  have  been 
unable  to  render  any  assistance  to  very  deserving  widows,  simply 
because  their  children  were  not  boys.  This  is  one  reason  why  we 
need  a  Girls'  Orphanage. 

Everywhere  also  there  is  an  outcry  about  the  scarcity  of  good 
servants,  honest  servants,  industrious  servants,  well-trained  ser- 
vants. We  know  where  to  find  the  sisters  who  will  try  to  produce 
such  workers  out  of  the  little  ones  who  will  come  under  their 
care. 

We  have  succeeded  by  God's  grace  and  the  diligent  care  of  our 
masters  and  matrons  in  training  the  lads  so  that  they  have  become 
valuable  to  business  men :  why  should  not  the  same  divine  help 
direct  us  with  the  lasses,  so  that  domestics  and  governesses  should 
go  forth  from  us  as  well  as  clerks  and  artisans?  We  believe  that 
there  are  many  friends  who  will  take  a  special  interest  in  the  girls, 
and  that  there  are  some  whose  trades  would  more  readily  enable 
them  to  give  articles  suitable  for  girls  than  those  which  are  useful 
to  boys. 

Here  is  a  grand  opportunity  for  Christian  people  with  means  to 
take  their  places  among  the  first  founders  of  this  new  institution, 
and  if  they  judge  that  such  a  work  will  be  good  and  useful,  we 
hope  that  they  will  without  fail,  and  zvithont  delay,   come  to  our 


THE   GIRLS'    ORPHANAGE.  23 1 

assistance  in  this  fresh  branch  of  service.  We  cannot  afford  to  lose 
a  single  penny  from  the  funds  for  the  boys,  but  this  work  for  the 
girls  must  be  something  extra  and  above.  You  helped  Willie  and 
Tommy:  will  you  not  help  Mary  and  Maggie? 

It  is  very  needful  to  add  that  foolish  persons  often  say:  Mr. 
Spurgeon  can  get  plenty  of  money,  and  needs  no  help.  If  all 
were  to  talk  in  this  fashion,  where  would  our  many  works  drift  to? 
Mr.  Spurgeon  does  get  large  sums,  but  not  a  penny  more  than 
the  various  works  require,  and  he  gets  it  because  God  moves  His 
people  to  give  it,  as  he  hopes,  good  reader.  He  may  move  you. 
We  have  no  personal  end  to  serve,  we  do  not,  directly  or  indirectly, 
gain  a  single  penny  by  the  Orphanage,  College,  or  any  other  socie- 
ties over  which  we  preside ;  neither  have  we  any  wealthy  persons 
around  us  who  are  at  a  loss  to  dispose  of  their  property ;  but  our 
hard-working  church  keeps  continually  consecrating  its  offerings, 
and  our  friends  far  and  near  think  upon  us.  Our  treasury  is  the 
bounty  of  God,  our  motto  is :  THE  LoRD  WILL  PROVIDE.  Past 
mercy  forbids  a  doubt  as  to  the  future,  and  so  in  the  name  of  God 
we  set  up  our  banners. 

The  girls'  part  is  not  yet  fully  complete,  but  it  soon  will  be  so, 
and  then  we  m.ust  take  in  the  girls.  Now  it  occurs  to  me  to  let 
my  fp'ends  know  the  increased  need  which  has  arisen,  and  will  arise 
from  the  doubling  o  the  number  of  children.  The  income  must 
by  some  means  be  doubled.  My  trust  is  in  the  Lord  alone,  for 
whose  sake  I  bear  this  burden  I  believe  that  He  has  led  me  all 
along  in  the  erection  and  carrying  on  of  this  enterprise,  and  I  am 
also  well  assured  that  His  own  hand  pointed  to  the  present  exten- 
sion, and  supplied  the  means  for  making  it.  I  therefore  rest  in 
the  providence  of  God  alone.  But  the  food  for  the  children  will 
not  drop  as  manna  from  heaven,  it  will  be  sent  in  a  way  which  is 
more  beneficial,  for  the  graces  of  His  children  will  be  displayed 
in  the  liberality  which  will  supply  the  needs  of  the  orphans.  God 
will  neither  feed  the  children  by  angels  nor  by  ravens,  but  by  the 
loving  gifts  of  His  people.  It  is  needful,  therefore,  that  I  tell  my 
friends  of  our  need,  and  I  do  hereby  tell  them.  The  institution 
will  need,   in  rough  figures,  about  one  thousand  dollars  a  week. 


232  LIFE    AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON, 

This  is  a  large  sum,  and  when  I  think  of  it  I  am  appalled  if 
Satan  suggests  the  question :  "  What  if  the  money  does  not  come 
in?"  But  it  is  nothing  to  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth  to  feed 
five  hundred  little  ones.  He  has  kept  two  hundred  and  fifty  boys 
for  these  years,  and  He  can  do  the  like  for  the  same  number  of 
girls.  Only  let  not  His  stewards  say  that  there  is  no  need  at  Stock- 
well,  for  there  is  great  and  crying  need  that  all  my  friends  should 
inquire  whether  they  may  not  wisely  render  me  much  more  aid 
than  they  have  done.  The  buildings  are  not  all  finished  yet,  nor 
the  roads  made,  but  this  will  soon  be  accomplished,  and  then  the 
institution  will  be  in  full  operation,  and  its  requirements  will  be 
great,  I  have  written  these  lines  with  a  measure  of  reluctance ; 
and  I  hope  it  is  not  in  unbelief,  but  as  a  reasonable  service,  that  I 
have  thus  stated  the  case. 


XIX. 
SUNSHINE    IN    THE    HEART. 


Dear  friend,  whether  you  die  as  soon  as  you  are  born  again,  or  remain  on 
earth  for  many  years,  is  comparatively  a  small  matter,  and  will  not  materially 
alter  your  indebtedness  to  divine  grace.  In  the  one  case  the  great  Husband- 
man will  show  how  He  can  bring  His  flowers  speedily  to  perfection ;  and  in 
the  other  He  will  prove  how  He  can  preserve  them  in  blooming  beauty,  despite 
the  frosts  and  snows  of  earth's  cruel  winter :  in  either  case  3'our  experience 
will  reveal  the  same  love  and  power.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


SUNSHINE    IN   THE    HEART. 


ABUNDANT  evidence  has  been  given  to  assure  the  founder 
and  patrons  of  the  Orphanage  that  the  aim  ever  in  view, 
viz.,  the  spiritual  good  of  the  children,  is  being  constantly  realized. 
The  little  ones  who  have  been  removed  by  death  have  died  in 
the  Lord.  Mr.  Charlesworth,  the  head  master,  tells  the  following 
pathetic  story  concerning  one  of  "  these  little  ones  "  :  — 

During  the  history  of  the  Orphanage  we  have  received  a  num- 
ber of  children  to  whom  has  been  bequeathed  a  heritage  of  dis- 
ease. In  many  cases,  we  are  thankful  to  say,  delicate  boys,  of 
whom  at  first  we  stood  in  doubt,  have  become  strong  and  healthy 
youths.  God  has  been  very  gracious  in  blessing  the  ministra- 
tions of  doctors  and  nurses  to  the  complete  renovation  of  consti- 
tutions enfeebled  by  disease,  neglect,  or  want.  Our  death-rate 
has  been  very  small  considering  the  large  proportion  of  children 
whose  parents  died  of  pulmonary  disease  and  other  hereditary 
complaints.  Only  thirteen  out  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
have  been  removed  by  death  during  their  term,  and  of  these  one 
died  in  a  fit  within  a  few  hours  of  his  admission,  and  another  of 
scarlet  fever  while  away  for  a  holiday.  With  the  exception  of  one 
boy,  who  died  of  scarlet  fever,  all  the  rest  fell  victims  to  inherited 
disease. 

With  devout  gratitude  to  our  Heavenly  Father  we  record  the 
pleasing  fact  that  all  who  have  died  in  the  institution  not  only  gave 
evidence  of  conversion,  but  experienced  the  rapture  of  saints  who 
are  fully  assured  of  their  personal  interest  in  the  Saviour  and  of 


236  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURCJEON. 

their  eternal  home  in  the  house  of  many  mansions.  In  the  httle 
books  entitled  "  Love  Jesus  and  Live  for  Heaven  "  and  "  Little 
Dicky "  we  have  endeavored  to  describe  the  dying  experiences 
of  two  of  the  boys,  and  now  it  has  fallen  to  our  lot  to  write  of 
another  who  has  only  just  fallen  asleep.  The  realities  thus  de- 
scribed may  seem  to  some  to  belong  to  the  realm  of  fiction ;  but 
we  ask  to  be  believed  v/hen  we  affirm  that  we  have  not  exagger- 
ated, nor  even  colored,  a  single  expression. 

Ernest  Edgar  Bray,  the  last  of  the  number  called  to  the  fold 
above,  came  to  us  after  he  had  lost  both  parents.  He  was  a 
simple-minded,  affectionate  boy,  but  for  several  years  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  very  little  moral  consciousness.  His  conduct  at  times 
was  a  severe  strain  upon  the  patience  of  his  matron  and  teachers, 
and  on  several  occasions  he  brought  himself  into  disgrace  by  his 
folly  and  sin.  We  mention  this  at  the  outset  to  show  that  he  had 
no  natural  bias  towards  goodness,  and  that  his  Christian  character 
was  not  due  to  the  development  of  inherited  virtues.  The  child- 
piety  of  the  theorists  is  a  quality  we  have  never  met  with  during 
a  long  experience ;  but  the  piety  which  springs  from  a  regener- 
ated nature  is  a  beautiful  adornment  we  have  often  witnessed.  In 
every  such  case  the  character  and  conduct  after  conversion  formed 
a  striking  contrast  to  all  that  had  gone  before.  The  change  was 
so  radical,  that  the  second  phase  of  experience  seemed  to  belong 
to  another  individual.  "  From  darkness  to  light  "  indicates  the 
change  of  which  a  new-born  soul  is  conscious ;  "  from  the  king- 
dom of  Satan  into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son  "  suggests  the 
altered  relationship  into  which  a  "  child  of  God  "  enters.  The 
change  is  not  a  development,  but  a  translation.  If  it  be  claimed 
by  some  that  the  artless  simplicity  of  childhood  carries  with  it  the 
germs  of  a  Christian  character,  and  that  children  ought  to  grow 
up,  under  proper  nurture,  and  "  never  know  themselves  as  other 
than  Christian,"  we  challenge  the  theory  by  demanding  an  illus- 
tration. If  a  case  in  point  be  adduced,  we  shall  then  claim  the 
liberty  to  withhold  our  assent  unless  we  can  be  certified  that  no 
radical  change  has  ever  been  effected  by  the  grace  of  God.  We 
believe  it  to  be  contrary  to  the  testimony  of  the  Word  of  God 
and  to  the   uniform  experience  of  Christians  for  the  twilight   of 


SUNSHINE  IN  THE  HEART.  237 

natural  virtues  to  expand  into  the  full  radiance  of  Christian  purity 
and  joy.  The  divine  life  in  the  soul  is  a  heavenly  exotic,  and 
sanctification  is  the  result  of  the  Spirit's  operation.  "  Not  of 
works,  lest  any  man  should  boast,"  is  an  inspired  dictum,  which 
receives  unqualified  indorsement  from  all  who  belong  to  the  "  new 
creation." 

In  the  case  of  Ernest  Bray,  the  change  in  his  character  was  so 
apparent  that  no  one  could  question  the  fact  of  the  divine  agency 
by  which  it  was  wrought.  It  is  true,  the  precise  moment  of  the 
change  cannot  be  determined,  nor  can  we  indicate  the  special 
circumstance  which  culminated  in  his  conversion.  From  the  time 
of  his  admission  to  the  Orphanage  he  was  the  object  of  Christian 
solicitude  and  prayer,  and  the  subject  of  Christian  instruction  and 
training.  Twice  every  day  all  the  boys  assemble  for  family  wor- 
ship, when  a  text  is  repeated  from  memory,  the  Word  of  God  read 
and  expounded,  addresses  delivered,  and  prayer  offered.  On 
Wednesday  evening  a  special  service  is  held,  the  salvation  of  the 
boys  being  the  supreme  aim  of  the  friends  who  conduct  it ;  and 
on  Sundays  the  following  plan  is  adopted :  In  the  morning  one 
detachment  is  sent  to  the  Tabernacle,  another  to  Wynne  Road 
Baptist  Chapel,  and  a  special  service  is  held  at  home  for  the 
remainder.  In  the  afternoon  a  Sunday-school  is  held,  the  boys 
being  taught  in  classes  by  friends  interested  in  the  institution.  In 
the  evening  a  separate  service  is  arranged  for  the  elder  boys,  the 
younger  ones  spending  the  time  with  their  matrons  in  their  respec- 
tive houses.  During  the  week  also  all  the  members  of  the  staff 
"  watch  for  their  souls  as  those  who  must  give  an  account,"  and 
the  Bible  is  a  text-book  in  all  the  classes  of  the  school.  In  all 
these  arrangements  human  instrumentality  is  consecrated  to  the 
work  of  soul-winning  and  Christian  nurture,  and  our  Heavenly 
Father  is  graciously  pleased  to  bless  all  the  means  employed,  so 
that  "  he  that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together." 
Of  one  thing  we  are  fully  assured,  that  however  numerous  and 
distinct  the  agencies,  "  God  giveth  the  increase."  To  Him,  tliere- 
fore,  be  all  the  glory. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1879  it  became  evident  that  Bray 
would  not  survive  the  winter,  his  lungs  betraying  deep-seated  dis- 


238  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

ease.  He  was  very  reluctant  to  enter  the  infirmary,  and  bravely 
tried,  as  consumptives  usually  do,  to  conceal  his  worst  fears  re- 
specting himself.  For  some  time  after  his  admission  the  buoy- 
ancy of  a  child's  hope  threw  the  thought  of  death  into  the  shade, 
but  at  length  the  conviction  gained  strength  that  his  end  was  not 
far  distant.  The  loving  ministry  of  his  constant  attendant  became 
more  and  more  welcome,  and  as  his  hope  of  salvation  deepened 
into  a  settled  conviction,  and  the  "  peace  of  God  "  shed  a  holy 
calm  over  his  spirit,  he  conversed  freely  of  the  preciousness  of 
Jesus  and  the  prospect  of  being  "  for  ever  with  the  Lord."  His 
face  soon  betrayed  the  secret  of  his  soul's  experience,  revealing, 
as  in  a  mirror,  the  tranquillity  of  peace  and  the  ecstasy  of  joy. 
He  said  to  one  of  his  playmates,  who  came  to  see  him  on  his 
return  from  the  Christmas  holidays:  "  Do  you  see  any  difference 
in  my  face?"  "Yes,"  he  replied;  "it  is  thinner."  "Oh,"  he 
replied,  "  that  is  not  what  I  mean !  Don't  you  see  it  looks  more 
shining?  "  "  Beholding,  as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord,"  he 
was  being  changed  into  the  same  image,  and  he  was  conscious 
of  the  transformation.  He  often  remarked,  "  I  have  sunshine 
to  the  bottom  of  my  heart."  One  morning  he  was  singing  very 
softly  to  himself,  and  one  of  the  boys  remarked:  "I  know  why 
you  feel  happy  just  now;  it  is  because  the  sun  is  shining!  "  Bray 
replied:  "It's  not  that;  it  is  something  inside!  Jesus!"  On 
another  occasion  he  said :  "  I  do  love  to  talk  about  Jesus ;  it 
makes  me  so  happy.  I  did  not  begin  to  love  Jesus  until  I  came 
into  the  infirmary.  I  have  loved  Him  ever  since,  but  not  half  so 
much  as  I  do  now.  The  Lord  makes  me  happy  all  day  and  all 
night.  I  don't  mind  the  long  nights  as  I  did,  because  Jesus  is 
near  me."  "  I  want  to  sing,"  he  remarked  to  a  loving  friend  who 
was  visiting  him,  "  but  I  can't !  "  She  said  :  "  Well,  you  will  raise 
a  loud  note  when  you  enter  heaven,  won't  you?"  He  replied: 
"  Ah,  I  shall  sing  there  !  I  sing  noiv,  inside ;  but  I  shall  sing  otit 
loud  then,  and  wait  and  watch  for  you  to  come  !  " 

Much  of  his  time  was  spent  in  prayer.  Entering  the  room  one 
morning,  the  nurse  heard  him  say:  "  So  happy!  so  happy!  Oh, 
Lord,  may  this  be  a  glorious  day !  Let  me  praise  Thee  !  Bless 
all  the   boys !     May  they  love  Jesus !     Forgive   all   my  sins  for 


Infirmauy  —  Stockwell  Orphanage. 


SUNSHINE   IN   THE   HEART.  239 

Thy  Son's  sake  !  "  Not  a  day  passed,  as  he  heard  the  boys  at 
play,  without  a  prayer  for  their  conversion,  and  as  he  lay  awake 
with  pain  during  the  long  hours  of  the  night  his  heart  went  forth 
in  earnest  supplication  that  God  would  bless  and  save  his  com- 
panions. He  said  to  the  nurse  who  was  with  him :  "  I  do  want 
to  do  something  for  Jesus.  Oh,  I  know !  I  will  try  to  write  to 
my  brother.  I  do  want  him  to  love  the  Lord  !  "  He  then  wrote 
the  following  letter :  — 

Dear  Brother,  —  I  have  much  pleasure  in  writing  these  few 
lines  to  tell  you  how  the  Lord  has  made  me  so  happy.  I  used  to 
think  I  loved  and  trusted  the  Lord  enough,  but  something  made 
me  feel  I  must  love  Him  more.  If  I  was  strong,  oh,  how  I  would 
work  for  Jesus  !  I  hope  and  trust  this  letter  may  be  the  means  of 
making  you  happy  in  the  Lord.  Tell  aunt  how  very  happy  I  am. 
Good  bye,  trusting  we  both  shall  meet  in  heaven. 

Your  loving  brother, 

Ernest  Bray. 

Added  to  his  prayerfulness  and  anxiety  for  others,  his  patience 
in  enduring  pain  was  another  evidence  of  his  thorough  conver- 
sion. As  he  lay,  week  after  week,  with  declining  strength,  so  that 
the  weight  of  his  bed-clothes  became  at  length  a  burden,  and  he 
was  unable  to  shift  his  position  without  assistance,  not  a  murmur 
escaped  his  lips.  Any  little  service  rendered  by  his  loving  attend- 
ants evoked  a  cheerful  smile  or  a  grateful  "Thank  you  !  God  bless 
you  !  "  How  much  is  true  piety  seen  in  these  little  things  !  They 
may  not  strike  the  reader,  but  those  who  actually  see  the  gracious 
patience  and  gratitude  know  how  to  appreciate  them.  He  said  to 
Miss  A.,  one  of  the  teachers,  a  few  days  before  his  departure :  "  I 
have  been  so  worried  this  morning ;  Satan  came  to  me  and  said : 
'What's  the  use  of  jj/(?7^  trusting?  '  but  God  gave  me  the  victory 
over  him,  and  I  am  happy  now."     She  then  quoted  the  lines,  — 

"  Sin,  my  worst  enemy  before, 

Shall  vex  my  eyes  and  ears  no  more ; 
My  inward  foes  shall  all  be  slain, 
Nor  Satan  break  my  peace  again  :  " 

and  the  thought  of  his  final  and  complete  triumph  over  sin  and 
Satan  cast  a  flush  of  victory  over  his  face.     "  He  then  thanked  me 


240  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

SO  gratefully,"  this  friend  writes,  "  and,  putting  his  thin  arms  round 
me,  kissing  me  many  times,  he  said :  '  Oh,  I  do  love  Jesus  and 
you !  You  are  all  such  kind  friends  to  me,  and  I  feel  Mr.  Charles- 
worth  is  a  father  to  me.  But  do  pray  for  me  that  I  may  go  soon.'" 
He  added  to  the  same  friend  :  "  I  wish  I  had  strength  to  do  some- 
thing for  nurse;  she  has  done  so  much  for  me."  With  what  little 
strength  he  could  command  he  tried  to  sing  a  simple  impromptu 
couplet,  after  the  manner  of  the  Jubilee  Singers,  — 

"  Oh.  come  along  with  me  to  Jesus ; 
Oh,  nurse,  come  along  !  " 

Mrs.  C.  said  to  him,  as  she  sat  by  his  bedside :  "  You  will  soon  be 
home."  Putting  his  thin  hand  on  her  face,  he  exclaimed :  "  Oh, 
Mrs.  C,  I  do  hope  I  shall,  —  I  am  ready;  "  and  then  he  added: 
"  I  will  give  you  another  smile."  Before  she  left  she  kissed  him, 
and  said :  "  If  we  find  you  gone  we  shall  not  sorrow ;  it  will  be 
your  gain."  He  very  sweetly  replied:  "I  should  be  sorry  for 
you  to  sorrow ;  I  shall  be  free  from  pain ;  safe  at  home."  So 
certain  was  his  conviction  that  he  would  soon  be  home  that  he 
said  one  day:  "I  should  like  a  sandwich,  and  then  I  don't  want 
anything  more  on  this  earth." 

There  is  a  charm  about  the  sweet  simplicity  of  faith  and  hope 
which  makes  the  religion  of  childhood  a  type  of  piety  worthy  of 
imitation.  With  all  the  eloquence  of  pathos  Jesus  took  a  little 
child  and  said,  as  He  placed  him  in  the  midst  of  the  bystanders, 
who  had  conceived  a  very  different  ideal:  "Except  ye  be  con- 
verted, and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  When  the  sterner  virtues  of  manhood  are 
toned  by  the  feminine  graces  of  childhood  the  perfection  of  Chris- 
tian character  is  attained. 

While  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  in  Mentone,  Bray  was  very  anxious  to 
write  and  tell  him  how  happy  he  was  in  Jesus.  The  following  was 
the  letter  he  sent :  — 

Infirmary,  Stockwell  Orphanage. 

Dear  Mr.  Spurgeon,  —  As  Dr.  Wylie  said  he  was  going  to 
Mentone,  I  thought  I  should  like  to  send  you  a  few  lines.  The 
last  time  you  saw  me  you  thought  I  should  soon  be  in  heaven, 
and  you  asked  the  Lord   if  you   could  soon  be  there  too,  but  the 


SUNSHINE   IN   THE   HEART.  24 1 

Lord  has  spared  us  both ;   and  may  the  Lord  soon  bring  you  back 

again  to  serve  and  praise  Him.     I  can't  do  much  for  Jesus,  but  I 

am  trying  to  bear  patiently  all  I  have  to  suffer.     I  am  still  in  bed, 

and  I  feel  I  can't  write  any  more. 

From  one  of  your  orphan  boys, 

E.  Bray. 

To  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  replied :  — 

Mentone,  February  5. 

Dear  Bray,  —  I  was  so  pleased  with  your  little  note.  It  was 
so  good  of  you,  with  all  your  pain,  to  sit  up  and  write  to  me.  I 
hope  when  the  spring  weather  comes  you  will  feel  better,  but  if 
not,  you  know  of  the  "  sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood  " 
which  "  stand  dressed  in  living  green."  The  Lord  Jesus  will  be 
very  near  you.  He  feels  for  dear  suffering  children.  He  will 
keep  you  patient  and  joyful.  Oh,  how  He  loves !  If  there  is  any- 
thing you  want,  be  sure  to  let  me  know. 

Your  loving  friend, 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

On  the  pastor's  return  he  came  to  see  him,  and  the  visit  seemed 
to  yield  an  equal  pleasure  to  each.  The  dear  boy  was  full  of 
gratitude  to  his  kind  friend  and  benefactor,  and  expressed  himself 
with  touching  simplicity  and  clearness  as  to  his  faith  and  hope  and 
joy.  He  talked  with  all.  the  freedom  of  a  veteran  believer  whose 
long  experience  of  the  goodness  and  faithfulness  of  God  had  made 
doubt  impossible  and  faith  a  natural  impulse.  Calling  the  nurse 
to  his  side,  Bray  requested  her  to  give  him  his  purse,  and  taking 
out  four  shillings  which  he  had  saved,  he  asked  Mr.  Spurgeon  to 
accept  it  for  the  Girls'  Orphanage.  Such  an  expression  of  grati- 
tude was  very  welcome  to  the  pastor's  heart,  and,  we  doubt  not,  the 
offering  was  acceptable  to  "  The  Father  of  the  fatherless,"  whose 
smile  has  always  rested  upon  the  institution.  We  suggested  that  a 
portion  of  one  of  the  new  houses  should  be  built  with  the  money, 
and  be  called  "  Bray's  bricks,"  as  an  appropriate  memorial  of 
"  a  folded  lamb." 

In  the  course  of  the  interview  he  said  to  Mr.  Spurgeon :  "  Do 
you  remember  I  once  came  to  your  house  with  another  boy,  and 
you  asked  us  if  we  could  eat  a  piece  of  plum-cake?"     It  is  not 

16 


242  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

surprising  the  pastor  confessed  he  had  forgotten  this  special  in- 
stance of  kindness,  and  after  admitting  the  fact,  he  said  to  him, 
"  And  can  you  eat  a  piece  of  plum-cake  now?  "  We  shall  not  soon 
forget  how  the  child's  eyes  brightened  as  he  replied,  "  Yes ;  but 
only  a  piece  of  yours y  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  a  cake 
was  promised,  and  that  the  following  morning  it  was  duly  for- 
warded, Mr.  Spurgeon  sending  at  the  same  time  some  crystallized 
violets  and  rose-leaves  from  Mentone.  A  very  touching  prayer 
from  the  pastor  closed  the  interview,  and  kissing  the  little  sufferer, 
he  promised  to  carry  a  request  to  the  prayer-meeting,  and  ask  the 
elders  to  join  in  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  all  the  boys.  The 
message  was  duly  delivered,  and  the  assembly  engaged  in  prayer 
in  response  to  the  expressed  wish  of  the  little  sufferer.  The 
following  Monday  he  sent  a  piece  of  the  cake  to  the  elders,  with 
the  message :  "  Tell  them  I  want  them  all  to  pray  for  me  to-night, 
that  I  may  soon  go  home.  Ask  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  pray  for  me 
too ;  and  ask  him  to  pray  for  all  the  other  boys  in  the  Orphanage, 
that  they  may  meet  me  in  heaven."  And  then  he  added,  "  Oh,  I 
do  long  to  go  home  !  "  Poor  dear  boy,  the  weariness  and  languor 
which  come  from  the  wasting  of  disease  and  long  wakefulness 
intensified  his  longing  for  "  the  rest  that  remaineth."  Nor  was  it 
the  craving  for  rest  merely  which  directed  his  soul  heavenward ; 
he  said  to  Mr.  Bartlett,  who  visited  him  on  several  occasions : 
"  How  good  of  God  to  bless  me,  a  poor  weak  boy !  Oh,  how 
happy  it  makes  me !  I  long  now  to  be  with  Jesus,  and  I  hope  He 
will  soon  take  me,  for  /  want  to  see  His  face ! "  The  highest 
aspiration  of  an  advanced  saint  never  reached  beyond  this  —  to 
find  the  fulness  of  heaven's  bliss  in  the  vision  of  the  face  of  Jesus. 
On  the  eve  of  his  departure  his  soul  went  out  in  the  prayer: 
"  Dear  Lord,  do  come  soon  !  Jesus,  come  quickly  !  Take  me  !  " 
With  a  peculiar  emphasis  he  seemed  to  read  the  text :  "  When 
my  father  and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me 
up  !  "  During  the  last  night  of  his  sojourn  here,  the  hours  wore 
wearily  away,  and  the  twilight  of  the  early  morn  had  scarcely 
chased  the  lingering  shadows  from  the  landscape,  when  it  became 
evident  that  another  and  a  brighter  day  was  dawning,  which  would 
never  be  succeeded  by  night. 


SUNSHINE   IN   THE   HEART.  243 

The  friend  who  had  watched  him  during  the  first  part  of  his 
iUness,  and  whose  loving  ministry  had  been  greatly  blessed  to  him, 
was   early   at   his    bedside.     The   first   request   he   proff"ered    was, 

"  Don't  leave,  Miss  M !     I  can't  live  through  the  day !  "     He 

meant  he  could  not  live  here ;  he  well  knew  that  life  in  its  fulness 
awaited  him  in  the  bright  awakening  beyond.  When  his  posture 
was  changed  to  aff'ord  him  temporary  ease,  he  lay  in  silence  for  a 
few  seconds,  and  then  repeated  the  consoling  message  which  had 
reached  his  spirit  as  by  an  angel's  whisper:  ''My  lamb,  it's  nearly 
over''  Oh,  the  infinite  tenderness  which  that  message  breathes  ! 
Jesus  was  very  near,  and  the  mantle  of  His  dear  love  was  thrown 
around  the  sufferer,  enfolding  him  as  in  an  armor  of  triple  steel,  to 
ensure  immunity  from  the  darts  of  the  enemy.  All  heaven  stood 
revealed  to  his  enraptured  gaze,  and  the  ward  of  the  Orphanage 
Infirmary  proved  again  the  vestibule  of  the  eternal  home.    "  There 

He  is,  Miss  M !  There  's  Jesus  !   and  Cockerton  !  and  Dicky  !  " 

was    his   rapturous   exclamation  as  "  things  seen    and    temporal " 

were  fading  from  his  vision.     "  Can't  you  seem  Him,  Miss  M ? 

Oh,  look,  they're  all  around  my  bed!  "  It  seemed  impossible  to 
him  that  the  eyes  of  the  watchers  by  his  bed  could  be  closed 
against  the  glories  of  such  a  transfiguration  scene.  He  wanted 
all  about  his  bed  to  enjoy  the  blessedness  of  the  beatific  vision, 
and  they,  too,  shared  the  same  desire.  Though  the  lips  did  not 
give  it  expression,  each  heart  breathed  the  prayer :  "  Let  my  last 
end  be  like  his."  With  the  sting  of  death  gone,  the  terror  of  the 
grave  vanished,  heaven  open,  Jesus  near,  and  angels  waiting,  no 
wonder  he  exclaimed,  with  almost  his  last  breath :  "  Happy ! 
happy !  happy !  "  In  a  few  minutes  all  was  over,  and  another 
trophy  of  grace  had  joined  the  company  of  the  redeemed  in 
heaven.  As  the  spring  sun  shone  forth  just  then,  cheering  with 
his  bright  rays  the  world  which  during  the  winter  had  been  envel- 
oped in  fog,  nature  seemed  to  say  to  us :  Life's  winter  months  are 
over  now,  and  the  everlasting  spring  has  come ;  the  night  of  weep- 
ing is  ended,  and  the  morning  of  joy  has  dawned.  To  the  vision 
of  our  faith  the  pathway  to  heaven  stood  revealed,  and  in  the 
ecstasy  of  the  moment  we  could  hear  the  sweet  echoes  of  the 
greeting  in  the  world  beyond,  — 


244  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

"Come  in,  thou  blessed,  sit  by  Me; 
With  My  own  life  I  ransomed  thee  ; 

Enjoy  My  perfect  favor: 
Come  in,  thou  ransomed  spirit,  come, 
Thou  now  must  dwell  with  Me  at  home  ; 
Ye  blissful  mansions,  make  him  room, 

For  he  must  stay  forever." 

In  his  interesting  and  remarkable  book,  entitled  "  Sunlight  and 
Shadow;  or,  Gleanings  from  my  Lifework,"  *  Mr,  Gough  thus 
describes  a  day  he  spent  with  Mr.  Spurgeon :  — 

I  would  like  to  give  you  one  incident  to  illustrate  the  man  in 
his  greatness  and  simplicity.  He  wished  me  to  visit  his  Boys'  Or- 
phanage at  Stockwell.  I  could  go  only  on  Saturday,  and  his  note 
to  me  was  characteristic : 

"Beloved  friend, —  Although  I  never  go  out  on  Saturdays,  my 
horses,  being  under  the  law  and  not  under  grace,  keep  the  seventh- 
day  Sabbath,  yet  we  will  arrange  to  visit,"  etc. 

A  beautiful  day  it  was,  for  London,  as  we  rode  together,  chat- 
ting all  the  way.  The  history  of  the  Orphanage  is  intensely  inter- 
esting. The  commencement  was  a  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  to  Mr.  Spurgeon,  from  a  lady,  to  commence  an  orphanage 
for  fatherless  boys.  All  the  money  that  has  been  expended 
has  been  raised  by  voluntary  contributions,  and  the  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  is  invested  as  an  endowment. 

When  we  entered  the  grounds,  the  boys  set  up  a  shout  of  joy 
at  the  sight  of  their  benefactor. 

I  asked,  "What  are  the  requirements  for  admission?" 

He  said,  "  Utter  destitution.  Nothing  denominational.  We 
have  more  of  the  Church  of  England  than  of  the  Baptists. 
We  have  Roman  Catholics,  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  —  all 
sorts." 

After  the  boys  had  gone  through  their  gymnastic  exercises 
and  military  drill,  I  spoke  a  few  words  to  them.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
was  like  a  great  boy  among  boys. 

He  said,  "There  are  two  hundred  and  forty  boys,  —  only  think! 
How  many  pence  are  there  in  a  shilling?  " 

*  Hartford:   A.  D.  Worthington  &  Co. 


SUNSHINE   IN    THE    HEART. 

"  Twelve." 

"  Right.     How  many  shillings  in  a  pound?" 

"  Twenty." 

"  Right.     Twelve  times  twenty,  how  many?  " 

"Two  hundred  and  forty." 

"That's  a  penny  apiece  each  boy." 


245 


BOYS'      PLAYGROUND, 
Stockwell  Orphanage. 


"Here,  Mr.  Charlesworth,"  handing  him  a  sovereign,  "give 
these  boys  a  penny  apiece,"  when  a  shrill,  hearty  hurrah  was 
given  as  Mr.  Spurgeon  turned  away  with  a  laugh  of  keen  enjoy- 
ment. 


246  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPUROEON. 

"Will  you  goto  the  infirmary?  We  have  an  infirmary  and 
quarantine;  for  sometimes  the  poor  creatures  we  take  in  need  a 
good  deal  of  purifying.  We  have  one  boy  very  ill  with  consump- 
tion ;  he  cannot  live,  and  I  wish  to  see  him,  for  he  would  be 
disappointed  if  he  knew  I  had  been  here  and  had  not  seen  him." 

We  went  into  the  cool  and  sweet  chamber,  and  there  lay  the 
boy.  He  was  very  much  excited  when  he  saw  Mr.  Spurgeon. 
The  great  preacher  sat  by  his  side,  and  I  cannot  describe  the 
scene.     Holding  the  boy's  hand  in  his,  he  said : 

"  Well,  my  dear,  you  have  some  precious  promises  in  sight 
all  round  the  room.  Now,  dear,  you  are  going  to  die,  and  you  are 
very  tired  lying  here,  and  soon  will  be  free  from  all  pain,  and  you 
will  rest.     Nurse,  did  he  rest  last  night?  " 

"  He  coughed  very  much." 

"  Ah,  my  dear  boy,  it  seems  very  hard  for  you  to  lie  here  all  day 
in  pain,  and  cough  at  night.     Do  you  love  Jesus?" 

"  Yes." 

"Jesus  loves  you.  He  bought  you  with  His  precious  blood, 
and  He  knows  what  is  best  for  you.  It  seems  hard  for  you  to  lie 
here  and  listen  to  the  shouts  of  the  healthy  boys  outside  at  play. 
But  soon  Jesus  will  take  you  home,  and  then  He  will  tell  you 
the  reason,  and  you  will  be  so  glad." 

Then,  laying  his  hand  on  the  boy,  without  the  formality  of  kneel- 
ing, he  said :  "  O  Jesus,  Master,  this  dear  child  is  reaching  out  his 
thin  hand  to  find  Thine.  Touch  him,  dear  Saviour,  with  Thy  loving, 
warm  clasp.  Lift  him  as  he  passes  the  cold  river,  that  his  feet  be 
not  chilled  by  the  water  of  death  ;  take  him  home  in  Thine  own 
good  time.  Comfort  and  cherish  him  till  that  good  time  comes. 
Show  him  Thyself  as  he  lies  here,  and  let  him  see  Thee,  and  know 
Thee  more  and  more  as  his  loving  Saviour." 

After  a  moment's  pause,  he  said,  "  Now,  dear,  is  there  anything 
you  would  like?  Would  you  like  a  little  canary  in  a  cage,  to 
hear  him  sing  in  the  morning?  Nurse,  see  that  he  has  a  canary 
to-morrow  morning.  Good-bye,  my  dear ;  you  will  see  the 
Saviour,  perhaps  before  I  shall." 

I  have  seen  Mr.  Spurgeon  hold  by  his  power  sixty-five  hundred 
persons  in  a  breathless  interest;    I   knew  him  as  a  great  man  uni- 


SUNSHINE   IN  THE   HEART.  247 

versally  esteemed  and  beloved ;  but  as  he  sat  by  the  bedside  of  a 
dying  pauper  child,  whom  his  beneficence  had  rescued,  he  was  to 
me  a  greater  and  grander  man  than  when  swaying  the  mighty 
multitude  at  his  will. 

The  Stockwell  Orphanage  receives  fatherless  boys  and  girls 
between  the  ages  of  six  and  ten.  It  is  supported  by  voluntary 
contributions  and  by  the  revenue  from  the  capital  fund,  which 
yields  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  income  required.  It  is  con- 
ducted on  the  Cottage  System  :  each  home  is  presided  over  by  a 
godly  matron.  It  is  unsectarian :  children  are  received,  irrespec- 
tive of  their  denominational  connection,  from  all  parts  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  That  the  most  needy,  helpless,  and  deserving 
may  secure  the  benefits  of  the  institution,  candidates  are  selected 
by  the  committee,  and  are  not  elected  by  the  expensive  and  ob- 
jectionable process  of  polling  the  subscribers.  No  uniform  dress 
is  provided,  but  the  children's  garments  diff'er,  in  order  that  no 
peculiar  garb  may  mark  the  children  with  the  badge  of  poverty. 
The  children  receive  a  plain  but  thorough  English  education 
and  training.  The  supreme  aim  of  the  managers  is  always  kept 
in  view  —  to  "bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord." 


248  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PSALM   LXX. 

Make  haste,  O  God,  my  soul  to  bless, 
My  help  and  my  deliverer  Thou ! 

Make  haste  !  for  I  'm  in  deep  distress, 
My  case  is  urgent,  —  help  me  now  ! 

Make  haste,  O  God  !  make  haste  to  save  ! 

For  time  is  short  and  death  is  nigh  1 
Make  haste  !  ere  yet  I  'm  in  my  grave, 

And  with  the  lost  for  ever  lie. 

Make  haste  !  for  I  am  poor  and  low, 

And  Satan  mocks  my  prayers  and  tears; 

O  God,  in  mercy  be  not  slow, 

But  snatch  me  from  my  horrid  fears. 

Make  haste,  O  God,  and  hear  my  cries ! 

Then  with  the  souls  who  seek  Thy  face, 
And  those  who  Thy  salvation  prize, 

I  '11  magnify  Thy  matchless  grace. 


C.  H.  Spurgeon, 


XX. 
THE    COLPORTAGE    ASSOCIATION. 


The  Church  is  God's  hospice,  where  He  distributes  bread  and  wine  to  refresh 
the  weary,  and  entertains  wayfarers  that  else  had  been  lost  in  the  storm.  The 
Church  is  God's  hospital,  into  which  He  takes  the  sick,  and  there  He  nourishes 
them  till  they  renew  their  youth  like  the  eagles.  It  is  God's  great  Pharos,  with 
its  lantern  flashing  forth  a  directing  ray,  so  that  wanderers  far  away  may  be 
directed  to  the  haven  of  peace.  But  mind,  it  must  be  God's  Church,  and  not 
man's.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THE    COLPORTAGE    ASSOCIATION. 


THE  object  of  this  association  is  the  increased  circulation  of 
religions  and  healthy  literature  among  all  classes,  in  order  to 
counteract  the  evil  of  the  vicious  publications  which  abound,  and 
which  lead  to  much  immorality,  crime,  and  neglect  of  religion. 

This  object  is  carried  out  in  a  twofold  manner : 

First,  by  means  of  Christian  colporteurs,  who  are  paid  a  fixed 
salary,  and  devote  all  their  time  to  the  work,  visiting  every  acces- 
sible house  with  Bibles  and  good  books  and  periodicals  for  sale, 
and  performing  other  missionary  services  such  as  visitation  of  the 
sick  and  dying,  and  conducting  meetings  and  open-air  services  as 
opportunities  occur.  This  is  the  most  important  method,  enabling 
the  colporteur  to  visit  every  part  of  the  district  regularly. 

Second,  by  means  of  book  agents,  who  canvass  for  orders  for 
periodicals  and  supply  them  month  by  month ;  these  receive  a 
Hberal  percentage  on  the  sales  to  remunerate  them  for  their 
trouble. 

The  association  is  nnsectariajt  in  its  operations,  "  doing  work 
for  the  friends  of  a  full  and  free  gospel  anywhere  and  every- 
where." 

FOURTEENTH   ANNUAL   REPORT. 

In  a  recent  sermon  on  "  Books,"  the  following  striking  passage 
appears :  "  The  printing-press  is  the  mightiest  agency  on  earth 
for  good  or  evil.  The  position  of  a  minister  of  religion  standing 
in  his  pulpit  is  a  responsible  position,  but  it  does  not  appear  so 
responsible  a  position  as  that  of  the   editor   and   the    publisher. 


252  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Men  die,  but  the  literary  influences  they  project  go  on  for  ever. 
I  beUeve  that  God  has  made  the  printing-press  to  be  a  great  agent 
in  the  world's  correction  and  evangelization,  and  that  the  great 
final  battle  of  the  world  will  be  fought,  not  with  guns  and  swords, 
but  with  types  and  presses,  a  gospellized  and  purified  literature 
triumphing  over  and  trampling  under  foot  and  crushing  out  a 
corrupt  literature.  God  speed  the  cylinders  of  an  honest,  intelli- 
gent, aggressive.  Christian  printing-press  !  " 

To  wage  this  warfare  against  pernicious  literature  is  the  work 
in  which  this  and  kindred  associations  engage.  The  printing- 
press  produces  the  peaceful  weapons  and  ammunition,  while  the 
colporteur  is  the  Christian  soldier  who  carries  them  into  the 
conflict.  He  fires  not  at  random,  but,  selecting  his  ground  and 
opportunity,  aims  at  the  enemy  now  a  Bible  or  Testament,  then  an 
attractively  illustrated  periodical  or  interesting  book,  or,  failing  to 
find  a  purchaser,  will  present  a  tract  with  a  word  in  season,  accom- 
panied by  silent  prayer.  The  accompanying  reports  speak  of 
many  peaceful  victories  thus  won.  The  circulation  of  hurtful 
periodicals  and  books  is  immense,  but  the  association  thankfully 
records  that  during  the  past  year  it  has  put  into  circulation  a  total 
of  396,291  books  and  periodicals  to  the  gross  value  of  $37,875, 
while  no  less  than  630,993  visits  to  families  have  been  made  by 
the  colporteurs,  who  have  also  conducted  6,745  religious  services, 
besides  frequently  praying  with  the  sick  and  dying. 

The  colporteurs  are  frequently  told  that  but  for  their  visits  a 
large  number  of  the  people  upon  whom  they  call  would  be 
entirely  neglected  by  any  of  the  ordinary  methods  or  agencies 
employed. 

Reports  from  Superintendents,  &c.,  in  Districts. 

The  Rev.  D.  W.  Purdon  writes :  "  The  colporteur  sticks  to  his 
work  like  a  limpet  to  the  rock.  Patiently,  perseveringly,  and  I 
believe  very  prayerfully,  he  goes  on,  increasingly  acceptable 
among  those  among  whom  he  labors,  and  in  every  way  satisfac- 
torily to  those  whose  eyes  are  interestedly  on  him  and  his  work. 

"  I  see  that  during  the  past  eleven  months  he  has  sold  Bibles, 
94;   Testaments,    140;    books,  4,947;    magazines,  2,721;    packets, 


THE   COLPORTAGE    ASSOCIATION.  253 

cards,  &c.,  320:  total,  8,222.  And  he  has  visited  773  famihes, 
held  78  services,  and  distributed  4,620  tracts. 

"  Now,  considering  the  character  of  his  sphere,  and  the  times 
we  have  been  passing  through,  I  consider  this  a  good  eleven 
months'  work,  which  speaks  for  itself.     I  cannot  say  more." 

R.  W.  S.  Griffith,  who  has  had  some  years'  practical  experience 
of  the  working  of  colportage,  writes:  "I  can  only  say  that 
we  have  a  very  active  and  earnest  colporteur;  he  works  hard 
and  finds  a  great  pleasure  in  his  work,  carrying  a  smiling  face 
to  all  houses  he  visits,  and  finding  almost  without  exception 
a  cordial  welcome  everywhere.  He  has  a  very  simple  but 
impressive  manner  of  stating  gospel  truths,  and  his  visits  are, 
I  am  sure,  calculated  to  awaken  a  desire  for  holy  things  in 
many  hearts ;  it  has  been  so  in  several  cases  that  I  have  heard 
of,  leading,  through  divine  grace,  to  a  decided  conversion.  He 
is  doing  a  good  work,  and  we  all  like  him. 

"  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  immense  practical 
usefulness  of  the  colportage  work,  and  if  I  could  advise  any  one 
looking  out  for  some  branch  of  work  for  the  Lord  which  he  would 
aid,  I  would  unhesitatingly  say:  '  Choose  a  district  as  yet  unoccu- 
pied, and  send  your  subscription  to  the  association,  so  that  a 
colporteur  might  be  sent  to  work  there.'  Mr.  Bellamy,  the  col- 
porteur, visits  seven  or  eight  hundred  families  every  month, 
and  takes  two  or  three  cottage  services  every  week,  and  while  I 
am  writing  he  has  gone  in  his  donkey  cart  about  seven  miles  to 
take  a  service  this  evening;  he  will  hardly  get  back  till  ten  or 
eleven  o'clock.  Hoping  this  year  may  prove,  by  God's  blessing, 
a  very  encouraging  one  to  all  your  men." 

J.  S.  Hanson  writes :  "  I  hope  the  association  is  going  on 
prosperously;  if  all  were  as  satisfied  about  the  usefulness  of  the 
work  as  we  are,  they  would  soon  find  the  means  to  increase  the 
number,  till  the  land  was  filled  with  colporteurs." 

A  colporteur  writes:  "In  the  chapel  the  Word  preached  was 
much  blessed.  The  first  summer  I  was  here,  the  place  was 
crowded ;  soon,  however,  the  screw  was  put  on,  and  the  second 
summer  the  attendance  fell  off  wonderfully.  This  past  summer 
there  was   a  fair   attendance,    and   lately   it   has   been   better,   the 


254  I-n-E   AND    LABORS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

average  being  twenty-four  or  twenty-six,  sometimes  over  thirty 
adults  in  the  evening,  but  the  afternoon  service  is  poorly  attended. 
The  seals  to  my  ministry  are  some  who  have  been  born  again,  some 
quickened  in  the  divine  life,  and  others  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their 
need  of  a  Saviour.  And  now  for  those  upon  whom  the  screw  was 
put :  these  I  visit  in  their  own  homes  in  my  rounds ;  here  is  where 
the  work  of  a  colporteur  lies,  according  to  my  idea,  for  with  my 
pack  on  my  back,  or  in  my  hand,  I  have  an  excuse  (if  one  is 
needed  in  the  nineteenth  century)  to  call  at  all  the  houses  in  the 
villages;  and  here,  I  may  say,  eternity  alone  can  reveal  the  good 
done  by  the  tract  given,  read,  and  blessed  !  God  only  knows  of 
the  Scriptures  read  to  the  sick,  of  prayers  offered  at  the  bedside 
of  the  afflicted  and  those  appointed  to  death,  of  the  Word  spoken 
to  the  relations  or  attendants,  of  words  of  cheer  and  comfort 
spoken  to  the  brethren  and  sisters  in  Christ  who  are  cast  down, 
phases  of  whose  life  none  but  the  colporteur  can  see !  If  you 
ask  me,  Have  you  been  blessed  in  this  work?  Have  the  re- 
sults justified  the  outlay?  I  say  Yes,  yes,  yes!  But  there  is 
what  is  called  the  untabulated  results,  opposite  which  we  will 
put  the  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  and  the  heavenly 
reward." 

Another  testimony:  "Sunday  newspapers  have  been  given  up 
in  some  cases,  and  publications  such  as  '  Sunday  at  Home,' 
'Weekly  Welcome,'  and  the  'Boys'  Own  Paper'  purchased  in- 
stead. With  respect  to  the  sale  of  Bibles,  it  may  be  mentioned 
as  an  interesting  fact  that  since  his  residence  in  this  district  the 
colporteur  has  supplied  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes  of  'Cas- 
sell's  Family  Bible.'  He  has  conducted  139  services  on  the  Lord's 
day,  and  he  himself  says  that  he  has  never  seen  so  much  good 
resulting  from  his  work  as  he  has  seen  this  year ;  it  has  been  the 
year  of  his  greatest  encouragement." 

Another  colporteur  says :  "  My  sales  in  Bibles  and  Testaments 
for  the  last  quarter  exceed  the  sales  at  the  two  depots  of  the 
Bible  Society  here  for  the  whole  of  the  last  year.  I  think  this 
comparison  shows  conclusively  that  the  right  way  to  sell  the  books 
is  to  take  them  to  the  homes  of  the  people. 

"  During  the   past  twelve   months   I   have  sold  239  Bibles  and 


THE    COLPORTAGE    ASSOCIATION.  255 

1,229  Testaments.  Thank  God  for  past  success,  but  I  shall  not  be 
satisfied  until  I  can  see  a  portion  of  the  Word  of  God  in  every 
house  in  my  district. 

"  I  have  found  out  three  houses  entirely  without  the  Word  of 
God,  but  I  did  not  let  them  remain  so.  One  of  the  women  said 
she  could  not  afford  the  money  for  a  Testament ;  but  after  I 
talked  to  her  the  little  daughter  said :  '  Mother,  I  shall  open  my 
little  bank  and  pay  for  it,'  so  she  took  it  when  the  little  child  paid 
for  it.  She  had  been  married  seven  years,  and  never  had  God's 
Word  in  her  possession  all  that  time." 

Prevalence  of  Evil  Literature  and  its  Cure.  —  "  Was  told  of  a 
young  female  (a  governess)  who  sat  in  bed  reading  by  candle- 
light some  of  the  most  filthy,  low,  vulgar,  pernicious  papers,  so 
bad,  indeed,  that  the  woman  was  ashamed  to  tell  me  what  they 
were  ;   succeeded  in  supplying  her  with  a  good  magazine. 

"  My  work  is  still  progressing  favorably.  Several  boys  at  a 
boarding-school,  who  used  to  read  bad  papers,  now  take  '  Young 
England '  and  '  Excelsior '  from  me.  The  teacher  told  me  that 
she  was  very  glad  these  papers  had  come  out,  as  her  boys  used 
to  be  so  fond  of  bad  ones  before. 

"  In  one  village  which  I  visit  there  are  several  infidel  books,  and 
several  persons  have  turned  infidels  through  reading  them.  One 
is  a  very  intelligent,  quiet  young  man,  and  two  were  Methodist 
local  preachers.  Packets  of  infidel  tracts  are  being  sent  into  the 
villages ;  this  makes  me  feel  more  than  ever  the  pressing  need  of 
colportage  to  counteract  this  evil  work. 

"  I  am  glad  to  report  that  through  a  customer  I  have  succeeded 
in  getting  a  young  woman  to  take  the  '  Girl's  Own  Paper,'  instead 
of  a  trashy  paper.  She  was  so  delighted  with  it  that  she  lent  it 
to  another  young  woman,  and  I  expect  more  orders." 

Conversions  through  Books.  —  The  number  of  conversions  re- 
ported by  the  colporteurs  through  the  books  sold  is  too  large  to 
print  the  cases  in  detail ;  the  following,  however,  are  a  fair  sample 
of  others  :  — 

"  Saving  Faith."  — "  Two  persons  have  been  led  to  the  Sav- 
iour through  reading  this  book,  —  a  mother  and  daughter.  I  sold 
the  book  to  a  Christian  woman,  she  read  it,  and  lent  it  to  one 


256  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

of  her  neighbors  who  was  ill.  Through  reading  it  she  was  led  to 
trust  in  Jesus  as  her  Saviour,  as  was  her  daughter,  who  had  left 
service  to  nurse  her  mother.  The  book  was  then  sent  on  to 
another  daughter,  hoping  that  by  its  perusal  she  may  share  the 
same  blessing.  The  same  colporteur  speaks  of  a  third  case  of 
conversion  from  reading  the  same  book." 

"  The  Home  Beyond."  —  "A  farmer  to  wiiom  I  had  previously 
sold  '  The  Home  Beyond,'  when  I  called  again,  said :  '  What  a 
beautiful  book  that  "Home  Beyond"  is!  I  read  it,  and  sent 
it  to  a  relation  of  mine,  who  was  very  ill,  fast  wasting  away  in 
consumption,  and  without  having  a  hope  in  Christ.  She  read 
the  book  I  had  sent,  and  it  was  the  means  of  leading  her  to  the 
Saviour  of  the  lost,  and  by  being  able  to  die  a  peaceful  and  happy 
death  she  testified  that  she  had  truly  embraced  the  Saviour.'  " 

Gratuitous  Tract  Distribution  audits  Results.  —  Many  thousands 
of  evangelical  tracts  are  given  away  by  the  association,  and  most 
of  the  colporteurs  report  that  people  receive  them  readily,  and 
that  numerous  cases  of  conversion  have  resulted  from  their  distri- 
bution.    Two  cases  are  appended  :  — 

"  I  was  showing  my  books  to  a  gentleman  one  day ;  he  had  a 
little  tract  in  his  hand  entitled  '  Taken  by  Surprise.'  I  offered  this 
to  a  lady  who  was  passing  by,  and  she  accepted  it.  Bless  the 
Lord  !  it  was  the  means  of  awakening  her  to  a  sense  of  danger, 
insomuch  that  she  could  not  find  rest  until  she  found  it  in  Jesus. 
She  is  now  believing  and  rejoicing  in  His  great  salvation." 

TJie  Pipe  Light.  —  "  Some  time  ago  I  held  an  open-air  meeting 
at  one  of  our  villages  during  the  dinner  hour  of  the  workmen,  as 
I  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  mill.  After  speaking  some  time, 
I  sold  several  small  books,  and  gave  away  about  two  hundred 
tracts.  One  of  the  men  screwed  the  tract  up  and  threw  it  away, 
but  picked  it  up  again  and  put  it  into  his  pocket,  thinking  it  might 
come  in  to  light  his  pipe.  At  tea-time,  however,  having  nothing 
else  to  read,  he  resorted  to  the  despised  tract.  It  was  headed, 
'  Stop  the  Clock.'  Before  he  had  finished  reading  it,  he  trembled 
from  head  to  foot,  and  pleaded  with  God  for  the  forgiveness  of 
his  sins ;  from  that  moment,  he  tells  me,  he  has  felt  a  changed 
man." 


THE   COLPORTAGE  ASSOCIATION.  257 

Mr.  Sptirgeotis  Sermons.  —  As  usual,  many  of  the  colporteurs 
have  met  with  instances  of  the  great  usefulness  of  these  sermons, 
both  in  the  comfort  and  instruction  of  believers  and  in  the  salva- 
tion of  sinners.     A  few  reports  are  given :  — 

"  About  twelve  months  ago  a  friend  of  mine  leaving  for 
America  took  a  good  supply  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons.  I  also 
kept  up  correspondence,  sending  other  sermons.  Having  now 
returned,  he  speaks  of  the  blessings  the  sermons  were  to  him  and 
others  while  there,  where  the  preaching  is  quite  perfection  in  the 
flesh.  One  of  these  sermons  sent  was  the  means  of  the  conver- 
sion of  one  woman,  and  of  stirring  up  others  to  find  perfection 
only  in  Christ  Jesus." 

"  In  soliciting  orders,  one  woman  asked  me  if  I  carried  any  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  works,  and  when  told  that  I  did,  seemed  pleased, 
bought  several  of  his  writings,  telling  me  that  although  she  had 
been  a  member  of  a  Christian  church  for  years,  she  never  saw  the 
gospel  in  its  true  light  until  she  read  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ser- 
mons. It  was  not  until  then  that  she  saw  Jesus  to  be  her  only 
Saviour,  and  could  rejoice  in  Him  as  such." 

Speaking  of  a  young  woman  who  had  been  in  much  darkness 
and  perplexity  about  spiritual  things,  and  seemed  to  despair  of 
mercy,  a  colporteur  writes :  "  But  when  I  was  there  in  January  I 
sold  her  Mr.  Spurgeon's  'Loving  Advice  for  Anxious  Seekers'  ; 
when  I  called  next  month  I  could  see  by  her  countenance  that 
there  was  a  change  for  the  better.  She  then  told  me  that  God  in 
His  mercy  had  blessed  that  sermon  to  her ;  that  it  seemed  as 
though  Mr.  Spurgeon  must  have  known  of  one  exactly  like  her, 
for  every  word  suited  her  case." 

Prayer  under  the  Hedge.  —  "The  old  man  was  standing  in  the 
sunny  side  of  the  hedge  on  the  roadside.  I  went  to  him  ;  and  on 
offering  a  tract  he  said :  '  I  cannot  read ;  '  I  then  spoke  to  him 
of  sin  and  death,  of  salvation  and  the  Lord  Jesus.  I  appealed 
to  him  as  to  a  dying  man,  beseeching  him  to  prepare  to  meet  the 
good  God  whom  he  had  been  living  without  these  upwards  of 
eighty  years ;  he  trembled  as  one  shivering  on  the  brink  of  eter- 
nity and  fearing  to  launch  away,  which,  according  to  the  nature 
of  things,  I  assured  him  he  must  soon  expect  to  do.  Down  aside 
_  17 


258  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  hedge  we  both  got  on  our  knees,  and  with  liberty  of  soul  ear- 
nestly besought  that  the  converting  grace  and  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  may  be  poured  upon  him  that  he  may  be  enlightened  and 
saved.  Knowing  now  where  he  lives,  I  shall  hope,  if  God  spares 
him  and  me,  ere  long  to  see  him  again  and  to  see  him  saved  of 
the  Lord." 

Preaching  the  Gospel  from  House  to  House. — "I  have  much 
encouragement  in  the  Colportage  work.  I  find  some  of  the  peo- 
ple very  willing  to  hear  the  Word  of  God.  Some  days  I  have  had 
what  I  should  term  a  cottage  meeting.  Where  I  have  found  four 
and  five  people  in  one  house  I  have  read,  prayed,  and  sung  for 
about  a  half-hour.  Passing  on  to  another  house,  where  I  have 
found  another  group,  I  spent  another  half-hour.  I  have  had  five, 
some  days  six,  little  meetings  with  the  people ;  at  such  times  the 
Master  has  been  with  us,  and  much  good  has  been  done." 

Addressing  the  Colliers,  October  2d.  —  "  Gave  a  short  address 
to  a  company  of  colliers ;  was  received  with  welcome  and  delight. 
Spoke  to  them  about  the  leper  going  to  Jesus.  Told  them  that 
we  had  hearts  diseased  by  sin  and  wicked  works,  and  they  needed 
cleansing.  That  we  could  not  do  anything  to  merit  our  salva- 
tion, but  we  could  plead  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  that  He 
was  as  willing  to  cleanse  them  as  when  He  cleansed  the  leper,  if 
they  opened  their  hearts  to  receive  Him.  They  expressed  grat- 
itude for  speaking  to  them,  and  thanked  me  very  much ;  said  I 
had  done  them  good.  Since  then  two  of  them  have  joined  the 
Salvation  Army.  I  believe  I  have  been  instrumental  in  God's 
hands  of  their  salvation ;   they  thanked  me  for  going." 

The  Colporteur's  Sabbath.  —  "  Visited  about  fifty  homes  with 
tracts,  and  spoke  a  few  words  where  I  could.  Sunday-school, 
2.30;  gave  an  address  to  teachers  and  scholars.  Preached  at  a 
lodging  house  at  5.30,  and  at  Gospel  Hall  6.30,  and  again  in  the 
Market  at  8.35  ;   then  visited  some  sick  people. 

"  On  Sundays  I  always  endeavor  to  get  among  the  groups  of 
men  at  the  corners,  and  wait  on  them  at  closing  time,  coming  out 
of  the  public-houses,  to  present  them  with  a  tract,  and  persuade 
them  to  observe  the  Sabbath;  not  only  have  I  been  successful 
with  individuals,  but  in  two  cases  of  which  I  have  heard  whole 


COLPORTHUR    AND    BiKLK    CARRIAGE. 


THE    COLPORTAGE   ASSOCIATION.  259 

families  have  been  induced  to  attend  regularly  the  means  of  grace 
on  the  Sabbath  day.     To  God  be  the  glory." 

Preachmg  Services  by  the  Colporteurs.  —  According  to  their  abil- 
ity and  opportunity  many  of  the  colporteurs  are  regularly  engaged 
preaching  the  gospel  both  in  the  open  air  and  as  "  supplies  "  for 
various  denominations.  Much  blessing  rests  upon  this,  which  may 
be  called  the  extra  work  of  a  colporteur.  A  few  reports  are  given 
of  this  department  of  service  :  — 

Conversion  Work.  — "  The  preaching  of  the  Word  has  been 
much  blessed  this  last  few  months.  One  poor  woman  told  me  in 
a  meeting  that  the  Lord  had  made  her  so  unhappy  about  her  soul 
that  she  could  not  work.  She  then  went  down  on  her  knees  and 
prayed  as  best  she  could,  and  the  Lord  had  showed  her  the  differ- 
ence between  believing  about  Christ  and  believing  in  Christ,  which 
I  had  been  talking  about  the  last  Sunday.  She  said :  '  I  have 
been  trying  to  get  Christ  and  heaven  by  doings,  but  now  I  see  it 
is  a  done  work,  and  I  can  say  I  am  in  Christ  and  Christ  in  me.' 
Two  others  have  just  been  brought  to  know  the  Lord,  and  several 
drunkards  have  become  sober  men,  who  a  little  time  ago  would 
curse  the  name  of  such  a  man  as  myself. 

"  There  are  many  things  to  encourage  me.  My  speaking  at  the 
chapel  and  Sunday-school,  and  other  places,  is  very  acceptable. 
The  congregations  have  increased,  and  a  greater  earnestness  is 
manifested  by  those  who  love  the  Lord,  and  it  has  been  our  joy 
to  hear  the  cry  of  the  penitent  sinner  for  mercy.  One  man,  in 
good  circumstances,  came  to  me  at  the  close  of  a  Sabbath  evening 
service  and  asked  to  be  remembered  in  prayer.  I  visited  him  the 
next  day  and  talked  and  prayed  with  him,  and  I  believe  he  is  now 
a  saved  man.  He  is  very  regular  at  the  week-night  service,  and 
it  is  good  to  hear  him  pray.  We  have  three  stand  proposed  for 
membership,  and  another  was  crying  for  mercy  last  Thursday 
night  in  the  meeting,  and  I  believe  the  Spirit  of  God  is  working 
upon  the  hearts  of  several  others." 

The  Colporteur  and  Temperance.  —  "I  am  pleased  to  inform  you 
that  the  book  '  John  Ploughman's  Pictures  '  has  been  the  means 
of  leading  one  man  to  give  up  the  drink,  and  since  that  has  joined 
the    Congregationalists,    and    he    wishes    me    to    tell    Mr.    Spur- 


260  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

geon  that  he  owes  his  conversion  to  God  through  reading  that 
book. 

"  On  entering  a  pubHc-house  I  found  several  men  drinking.  I 
began  to  talk  to  them  of  the  necessity  of  being  decided  for  Christ. 
The  landlady  came  and  sat  down  with  the  men ;  I  then  tried  to 
show  them  what  the  Saviour  had  done  for  them  and  how  He  loved 
them.  The  landlady  wept  like  a  child.  It  seems  as  if  they  can  stand 
as  many  oaths  and  curses  as  can  be  put  upon  them,  but,  thank 
God  !  they  cannot  stand  to  be  told  of  the  love  of  Jesus  without 
feeling  uncomfortable,  especially  the  baser  sort  of  people.  I  find 
that  the  name  of  Jesus  has  a  power  when  everything  else  has 
failed:   angels  and  men  before  Him  fall,  and  devils  fear  and  fly. 

"  Another  very  interesting  case  was  one  day  in  going  to  a  vil- 
lage. Just  as  I  got  to  the  village  there  came  a  dreadful  storm  of 
thunder  and  lightning  and  rain,  and  the  first  house  I  came  to  was 
a  public-house.  I  ran  into  this  house  for  shelter,  and  found  it  full 
of  men  drinking  and  gambling,  with  much  swearing.  I  had  not 
been  in  many  minutes  before  one  asked  me  what  I  had  to  sell ;  I 
at  once  put  my  pack  on  the  table  and  showed  what  I  had.  They 
soon  gave  over  swearing,  and  I  spoke  to  them  and  tried  to  sell 
them  a  book  each.  I  sold  one  '  John  Ploughman's  Talk,'  and 
another  at  a  shilling,  and  a  few  little  books,  and  a  number  left  the 
house  before  I  did,  and  went  home  in  the  rain ;  when  the  rain  gave 
over  a  bit  I  started  for  home  without  calling  at  any  more  houses. 
I  came  home  with  a  light  heart,  though  wet  through  with  water." 

During  the  year  1880  there  were  seventy-nine  colporteurs  in  the 
field.  They  sold  105,114  books  and  272,698  magazines,  besides 
distributing  gratuitously  794,044  tracts,  and  making  630,993  vis- 
its. Who  can  tell  with  what  results?  Surely  here  is  work  enough 
for  one  man  to  superintend,  yet  it  is  only  a  branch  of  the  great 
tree  which  Pastor  Spurgeon  has  planted. 


XXI. 
THE  SWORD  AND  THE  TROWEL. 


It  was  an  old  Pythagorean  maxim,  "  Sepiam  ne  edito,"  Never  eat  the  cuttle- 
fish. The  cuttle-fish  has  the  power  of  emitting  a  black  liquid  which  dyes 
the  water  and  enables  it  to  conceal  itself.  Have  nothing  to  do  with  those  who 
darken  all  around  them,  that  they  themselves  may  be  unseen  ;  honest  men  love 
light,  and  only  the  evil  find  darkness  to  be  congenial.  When  an  attthor  is  too 
obsciire  to  be  understood,  lea^'e  him  till  he  knows  how  to  write;  when  a  preacher 
is  mystical,  high-flown,  sophistical,  shun  him,  for  it  is  most  likely  he  labors  to 
conceal  some  latent  heresy ;  when  a  man's  policy  is  deep  and  artful,  flee  from 
him,  for  he  means  no  good.  No  deceiver  or  double-tongued  man  must  be 
admitted  within  the  circle  of  your  confidence.  Remember  the  advice.  Never  eat 
a  cuttle-fish.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THE  SWORD   AND  THE  TROWEL. 


THIS  Record  of  "  Combat  with  Sin  and  Labor  for  the  Lord  " 
has  closed  its  seventeenth  volume.  Eighteen  years  ago 
Mr.  Spurgeon  felt  the  necessity  of  having  a  channel  of  com- 
munication between  himself  and  his  many  correspondents  and  the 
numerous  friends  who  became  interested  in  his  work.  But  the 
magazine  is  more  than  a  record  of  work  done ;  it  is  an  earnest 
advocate  of  every  legitimate  endeavor  to  win  men  to  the  Saviour, 
and  in  addition  furnishes  able  expositions  of  Scripture.  Mr,  Spur- 
geon in  a  very  remarkable  manner  combines  the  Word  and  the 
Work :  the  Work  with  him  must  be  the  outcome  of  the  Word. 
We  meet  in  this  monthly  magazine  with  stirring  articles  of  great 
merit,  with  brief  sermons  deeply  spiritual,  with  helpful  lectures 
and  suggestions  to  Christian  workers,  with  notes  on  men  and 
events  worthy  of  study.  Unique  in  itself,  this  magazine  is  entirely 
free  from  sensational  productions  and  sentimental  reading.  It  is 
not  an  advocate  of  sect  or  party,  and  certainly  not  a  cudgel  for 
the  Editor  with  which  to  beat  out  the  brains  of  opponents.  Its 
pages  are  laden  with  choice  fruits ;  it  is  spiritual,  solid,  emotional, 
pathetic,  and  humorous.  But  the  vein  of  humor  carries  in  it  the 
real  and  substantial,  as  the  rough  ore  holds  the  precious  metal. 
Interesting,  instructive,  profitable,  we  never  meet  with  an  empty 
paragraph  or  a  wasted  word  in  this  journal.  The  ordinary  reader  is 
not  puzzled  by  scholastic  expressions  unnecessarily  introduced,  nor 
diverted  from  facts  by  a  bombastic  style,  which,  like  a  wordy 
address  before  a  jury,  may  lead  twelve  men  in  their  befogged  con- 
dition to  hang  an  innocent  man.  But  the  scholar  will  also  find  food 
for  thought  and  solid  instruction  within  its  pages.     The  readers  of 


264  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

"The  Sword  and  the  Trowel"  are  found  among  the  ministers  and 
members  of  all  denominations  at  home  and  in  foreign  lands. 

The  first  number  of  the  Eighteenth  Volume  lies  upon  our  table. 
Its  cover  is  familiar  to  our  eyes,  having  scanned  its  pages  for  many 
years.  The  first  article  of  this  number,  by  the  Editor  himself,  we 
commend  to  the  timid  and  hopeless.  Its  title,  "  Unto  the  End,'' 
suggests  one  secret  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  success.  He  encourages 
perseverance  in  every  good  and  laudable  work,  and  shows  that 
many  projects  perish  in  their  infancy  through  lack  of  this  grace. 
"  Perseverance  in  itself  is  admirable,  but,"  writes  the  Editor,  "car- 
ried on  to  the  last  hour,  it  will  be  glorious.  Happy  and  honored 
will  he  be  who  endures  to  the  end." 

The  second  article,  by  Mr.  Charlesworth,  the  head  master  of  the 
Stockwell  Orphanage,  is  a  touching  story  of  a  mother  seeking  a 
lost  daughter,  and,  thinking  she  had  found  her  standing  beneath 
a  railway  arch,  touched  her  on  the  shoulder.  A  strange  young 
woman  faced  the  anxious  mother,  who  exclaimed  by  way  of  apol- 
ogy, "Oh,  I  thought  it  was  my  daughter!"  The  words  reached 
the  tender  spot  in  this  poor  crushed  girl,  who  quickly  responded, 
"  I  wish  I  had  a  mother  to  come  after  me  !  "  The  motherly  instinct 
was  called  into  play  when  thus  accosted,  and  the  grieved  parent 
took  this  poor  stranger  child  to  her  own  home. 

The  third  article,  "  Religion  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  is  based 
on  Dr.  John  Stoughton's  book,  and  is  worthy  of  perusal. 

"  Launching  Out,"  by  Thomas  Spurgeon,  is  a  very  enjoyable 
exposition  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
The  following  paragraph  indicates  the  drift  of  the  article:  "He 
who  learns  to  swim  may  keep  one  foot  upon  the  bottom  of  the 
bath;  but  the  precaution  which  insures  his  safety  in  the  shallows, 
means  destruction  in  the  deep  waters.  He  who  wants  to  keep  one 
foot  on  the  bottom  in  mid  ocean  had  better  make  up  his  mind  to 
keep  both  there.  In  the  matter  of  salvation  it  is  either  sink  or 
swim.  Have  a  single  self-confidence  and  we  sink ;  the  waters  are 
too  deep  for  us  to  touch  the  bottom ;  trust  in  Jesus  only,  and  we 
swim,  upheld  by  His  strong  arm  and  loving  hand."  In  illustrat- 
ing the  gospel,  Thomas  Spurgeon  has  shown  himself  a  worthy 
son  of  a  worthy  sire. 


THE  SWORD  AND  THE  TROWEL.  265 

Next  we  have  two  hymns,  one  for  the  New  Year,  and  one  "  All 
Glory."  Then  follows  an  article  on  the  Jesuits.  This  class  of 
ferrets  with  all  their  brood,  who  are  always  nosing  around  after 
game,  are  never  spared  by  the  sturdy  London  preacher;  the  shave- 
lings of  Rome  are  his  abomination.  He  abhors  the  thought  of  a 
sinning  human  being  standing  as  mediator  between  the  sinner  and 
his  God ;  and  those  who  arrogate  to  themselves  the  ofhce  of  inter- 
ceding priests  are  roughly  handled  by  Mr.   Spurgeon. 

A  few  pages  of  the  magazine  are  devoted  to  a  very  touching 
story  entitled,  "  Jock  and  his  Mither."  We  were  not  satisfied  to  dip 
into  it  here  and  there,  but  read  it  through  even  in  the  midst  of 
pressing  engagements.  We  regretted  not  having  a  second  hand- 
kerchief at  hand,  for  every  line  touched  our  emotions  and  made 
the  tears  to  flow.  We  only  wish  that  in  our  preaching  we  could 
relate  this  story  with  all  the  pathos  and  Scotch  accent  with  which 
"Jock"  told  about  his  "  mither." 

As  we  turn  over  a  few  pages  more  we  light  upon  "Journal  Jot- 
tings and  the  Hop-picker's  Mission,"  by  John  Burnham,  the  Taber- 
nacle evangelist.  The  hop-pickers  are  a  depraved  class,  widely 
neglected  except  when  such  men  as  Mr.  Spurgeon's  evangelist 
go  forth  to  tell  them  of  Jesus  and  His  love.  And  these  beloved 
missionaries  are  always  rewarded  in  having  conversions  among  this 
debased  class,  whose  subsequent  chaste  and  temperate  lives  prove 
the  reality  of  their  conversion. 

Next  come  ten  pages  of  book-notices,  followed  by  "  Personal 
Notes  "  of  the  College,  the  colporteurs'  work,  and  the  Orphanage ; 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  movements  from  month  to  month,  and  interest- 
ing anecdotes  of  the  results  of  his  sermons  coming  from  various 
parts  of  the  wide  world.  Each  number  of  the  magazine  devotes  a 
few  pages  to  the  acknowledgment  of  money  and  goods  sent  by  sub- 
scribers and  friends  for  the  various  branches  of  work  carried  on. 

We  here  append  Mr.  Spurgeon's  preface  to  the  seventeenth 
volume,  which  summarizes  the  work  accomplished  and  indicates 
the  usefulness  of  the  magazine,  besides  his  unwearied  and  con- 
scientious labors  as  editor,  with  a  few  of  those  pungent,  crisp 
articles,  showing  that  consummate  wit  for  which  the  writer  has 
become  a  universal  favorite. 


266  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Kind  Readers,  —  Throughout  another  year  you  have  sus- 
tained the  magazine ;  and  as  very  many  of  you  have  expressed 
your  satisfaction,  and  few,  if  any,  have  favored  me  with  a  com- 
plaint, I  feel  encouraged  to  believe  that  you  have  been  pleased 
with  my  monthly  issues.  It  was  once  observed  in  my  hearing  by 
a  friend  who  wished  to  account  for  my  fulfilment  of  numerous 
duties,  that  as  for  the  magazine,  it  was  a  merely  nominal  thing  to 
be  the  editor,  for  few  editors  ever  saw  their  magazines  till  they 
were  in  print.  However  this  may  be  as  a  rule,  it  does  not  contain 
a  spark  of  truth  in  my  case,  for  I  have  personally  superintended 
every  page,  and  I  do  not  think  a  single  line  of  the  magazine 
has  passed  through  the  press  without  having  been  read  by  me. 
Whether  I  succeed  or  not,  I  certainly  do  not  delegate  my  task  to 
others.  If  I  had  more  leisure  I  am  sure  I  could  do  better,  and  it 
is  with  unfeigned  satisfaction  that  I  find  my  subscribers  contented 
with  what  I  can  procure  for  them. 

"  The  Sword  and  Trowel "  has  been  the  happy  means  of  uniting 
in  gracious  service  a  band  of  gracious  givers  and  workers,  who  now 
for  these  seventeen  years  have  joined  to  aid  the  institutions  which, 
though  they  locally  surround  the  Tabernacle,  are  really  the  off- 
spring of  a  congregation  which  is  found  scattered  throughout  all 
lands.  By  means  of  this  warm-hearted  brotherhood  the  Pastors' 
College  has  been  sustained  from  year  to  year,  until  some  six  hun- 
dred ministers  have  been  educated  in  it,  the  most  of  whom  are 
still  faithfully  preaching  the  old-fashioned  gospel  in  which  they 
have  been  trained.  In  connection  with  this  enterprise  three  breth- 
ren have  been  supported  as  evangelists,  and  their  itinerant  labors 
have  been  signally  successful.  Testimonies  that  churches  have 
been  aroused  and  sinners  converted  by  their  means,  have  been 
plentifully  sent  in,  and  these  pages  have  been  increased  in  interest 
thereby.  Hundreds  of  thousands  have  heard  the  gospel  through 
this  instrumentality. 

The  Stockwell  Orphanage  originated  through  an  article  in  this 
magazine,  and  from  time  to  time  its  support  has  been  mainly  sup- 
plied by  its  readers.  During  the  past  year  the  houses  for  the 
girls'  side  have  been  completed  and  partly  furnished ;  and  at  the 
present  time  the  first  detachment  of  little  ones  has  entered  into 


THE   SWORD   AND   THE  TROWEL.  267 

occupation.  More  remains  to  be  done  by  way  of  furniture  for 
other  houses,  and  the  further  contracts  for  the  infirmary,  baths,  and 
outbuildings  have  to  be  met;  but  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  have  seen 
the  project  so  far  in  progress,  and  to  feel  assured  that  all  that  is 
yet  required  will  be  forthcoming  in  its  season.  The  bazaar  which 
is  so  soon  to  be  held  will,  we  hope,  secure  the  amount  needed  to 
bring  the  enterprise  up  to  the  next  stage,  and  then  we  may  lay  our 
plan  for  the  final  outlay  on  the  chapel  of  the  Orphanage,  and  a 
few  other  necessaries.  All  that  has  been  done  has  been  accom- 
plished without  personal  solicitation,  or  the  allotment  of  votes,  or 
the  dissemination  of  heart-rending  appeals :  it  has  sufficed  to  lay 
the  case  before  the  Lord  in  prayer,  and  then  to  mention  it  to  His 
people  in  plain  and  earnest  terms,  and  the  funds  have  come  in 
with  marvellous  regularity,  the  larger  amounts  having  been  timed  to 
meet  the  hour  of  need  as  exactly  as  if  the  whole  went  by  clock- 
work. The  hand  of  the  Lord  is  in  this  thing,  and  to  Him  be  glory. 
That  this  institution  has  brought  honor  to  God  is  plain  enough, 
for  many  a  time  those  who  would  have  abused  our  ministry  have 
admitted  that  a  good  work  has  been  wrought,  and  have  had  no 
heart  to  revile.  There  is  a  something  about  orphan  work  which 
wins  the  sympathy  of  the  most  careless,  and  none  can  tell  till  the 
last  great  day  how  many  have  been  by  this  means  led  to  think 
well  of  the  gospel,  and  next  to  hear  it  and  experience  its  power. 

The  Colportage  Association  has  held  on  its  most  useful  course. 
It  has  been  sustained  with  difficulty,  for  somehow  it  does  not 
chime  in  with  the  tastes  and  views  of  large  donors,  but  its  influence 
for  good  is  second  to  no  existing  agency.  Where  there  are  not 
enough  dissenters  to  support  a  minister,  or  where  ministers  are  un- 
able to  cover  large  and  scattered  districts,  the  colporteur  makes  his 
way  with  his  pack,  and  speaks  a  word  for  Jesus  at  every  door,  either 
by  personal  conversation  or  by  leaving  a  tract.  Besides  this,  he 
preaches  by  the  roadside  or  in  village  chapels,  gets  up  temperance 
meetings,  visits  the  sick,  and  above  all  sells  good  books.  This 
society,  and  several  other  useful  works,  report  themselves  in  these 
pages,  and  enlist  good  friends  thereby. 

Mrs.  Spurgeon's  Book  Fund  quietly  pursues  its  beneficent  course. 
It  is  putting  sound  theology  just  now  upon  the  shelves  of  many 


268  LIP'E   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    II.    SPURGEON. 

a  poor  curate  and  ill-paid  minister,  and  this  it  does  so  largely  that 
it  would  be  a  miracle  of  a  strange  sort  if  it  did  not  greatly  affect 
the  ministry  of  the  day.  That  the  sermons  distributed  and  the 
*'  Treasury  of  David  "  furnish  material  for  preachers  is  saying  very 
little:  that  they  have  evangelized  the  tone  of  many  has  been  con- 
fessed in  numerous  instances,  and  is  true  of  far  more. 

Brethren  and  sisters,  you  have  aided  me  so  far  in  a  benevolent 
enterprise  of  no  small  dimensions,  and  I  hope  I  have  in  no  degree 
lost  your  loving  confidence.  Continue,  then,  to  bear  me  up  in  your 
prayers,  and  to  sustain  me  by  your  contributions.  More  can  be 
done,  and  more  should  be  done.  Every  living  work  is  capable  of 
growth ;  every  work  which  has  God's  blessing  upon  it  is  under 
necessity  to  advance.  Our  watchword  still  is  forward.  Possibly 
we  cry  forward  more  often  than  pleases  those  who  lag  behind. 
Some  time  ago  I  asked  for  men  and  means  to  send  evangelists  to 
India;  one  man  only  offered,  and  that  one  man  was  sent.  Up  till 
now  I  have  had  sufficient*  mone)^,  and  I  believe  that  when  more 
men  offer  I  shall  have  larger  funds ;  but  here  is  room  for  prayerful 
uplooking  to  the  Lord.  Brethren,  pray  for  us.  I  would  fain  live 
to  the  utmost  of  my  own  life,  and  I  would  draw  out  from  all  my 
brethren  more  and  more  for  God's  glory  by  the  propagation  of  the 
gospel,  the  alleviation  of  suffering,  and  the  arousing  of  the  Church. 
Thanks  to  all  helpers,  and  a  thousand  blessings. 


We  notice  in  an  American  newspaper  a  letter  signed  "  The 
Hornless  Deacon."  There  is  no  accounting  for  our  Transatlantic 
cousins,  but  what  can  the  good  man  mean  by  such  a  title?  A 
hornless  buffalo  or  a  hornless  cow  we  could  understand,  but  what 
is  the  reason  for  applying  that  adjective  to  a  deacon?  We  have 
been  lying  back  in  our  most  serious  armchair,  and  have  been 
revolving  in  our  meditative  soul  the  various  senses  which  can  be 
drawn  out  of  this  expression,  or  imputed  to  it;  but  we  cannot 
make  head  or  tail  of  it,  and  without  a  head  there  may  well  be  no 
horns.  The  owner  of  the  signature  is  evidently  a  deacon,  and 
therefore  he  must  be  fully  aware  that  deacons  do  not  possess 
horns  and  hoofs.     Some  pastors,  when  hardly  driven,  have  thought 


THE  SWORD  AND  THE  TROWEL.  269 

they  did,  but  this  was  a  clerical  error.  We  believe  that  all  evil 
reports  about  deacons  arise  from  nightmare,  and  are  slanderous 
and  absurd ;  but  still  they  do  arise,  and  therefore  this  good  deacon 
may  have  felt  it  necessary  in  his  own  case  to  assert  that  he  had 
no  horns,  and  was  not  related  to  any  individual  whose  head  is  thus 
adorned.  Had  not  deacons  been  a  much-abused  order  of  men 
the  foul  insinuation  as  to  horns  would  never  have  cropped  up,  and 
none  of  the  race  would  have  found  it  needful  to  claim  to  be  horn- 
less. Our  own  opinion  is  that  when  deacons  have  horns  it  will 
generally  be  found  that  the  minister  has  a  tail.  There  is  six  of 
one  and  half-a-dozen  of  the  other  in  most  cases  of  disagreement 
between  the  two  classes  of  church-officers. 

We  would  earnestly  hope,  however,  that  our  friend  "The  Horn- 
less Deacon  "  had  no  thought  of  the  Evil  One,  but  simply  meant 
to  say  that  he  was  not  a  fighting  man,  but  was  of  necessity  peace- 
ful because  he  had  no  provision  in  his  nature  for  making  an 
attack. 

A  horn  is  an  offensive  weapon,  and  a  hornless  deacon  is  one 
who  cannot  give  offence,  resent  an  injury,  or  inflict  a  wound. 
What  a  splendid  acquisition  to  a  quarrelsome  church  !  He  would 
be  sure  to  rule  well,  and  reduce  chaos  to  order  by  the  mere  force 
of  Christian  patience.  Few  men  believe  in  the  power  of  non- 
resistance,  but  our  faith  in  it  is  unbounded :  he  who  can  yield 
will  conquer,  and  he  who  will  suffer  most  for  the  sake  of  love  will 
wield  the  greatest  power  if  he  will  but  bide  his  time.  The  longest 
horns  that  were  ever  borne  aloft  will  yet  be  broken  by  the  sub- 
mission of  "  the  hornless."  To  be  utterly  unable  to  give  offence 
to  anybody  would  be  a  sublime  incapacity,  most  useful  in  these 
ticklish  days,  when  nine  people  out  often  are  ready  to  take  offence 
where  none  is  intended.  We  hope  "The  Hornless  Deacon"  is  not 
such  a  gentle,  inoffensive  body  that  he  would  let  people  forget 
quarter-day  and  their  subscriptions,  or  would  allow  the  minister 
to  draw  twice  the  amount  of  his  salary.  This  would  be  carrying 
a  virtue  to  an  extreme,  and  would  be  a  grave  fault,  especially  in 
the  latter  case.  We  are  bound  to  add  that  we  have  never  met 
with  such  a  want  of  principle  as  would  be  implied  in  this  instance : 
the  former  error  is   far  more   common.      The   kind,   gentle,   but 


2/0  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

earnest  deacon  is  invaluable.  He  is  as  an  angel  in  the  church, 
and  does  more  than  angel's  service.  Excellent  man !  We  can- 
not say,  "May  his  horn  be  exalted!"  for  he  has  none;  but  we 
trust  that  the  place  where  it  ought  to  be  will  never  ache  through 
the  ingratitude  of  those  whom  he  serves. 

Feeling  that  we  had  not  translated  this  signature  satisfactorily, 
and  not  liking  to  give  it  up,  we  consulted  a  learned  friend,  who 
gave  us  the  following  elucidation  of  the  mysterious  title  of  "  The 
Hornless  Deacon."  We  are  not  quite  sure  that  we  believe  in  it. 
He  says  that  it  is  the  minister's  place  to  carry  the  horn  and  blow 
it,  and  that  "The  Hornless  Deacon"  was  evidently  a  non-preacher, 
one  who  minded  his  own  business,  and  left  his  minister  to  blow 
the  ram's  horn.  We  do  not  think  any  the  better  of  him  for  this, 
for  we  like  a  man  all  the  more  if,  like  Stephen,  he  can  both  care 
for  the  widows  and  preach  the  gospel.  It  would  be  well  for  our 
country  churches  if  more  of  the  deacons  would  exercise  their  gifts, 
and  keep  the  village  stations  supplied  with  sound  doctrine.  Our 
learned  friend  suggests  that  there  may  be  in  the  term  "  hornless 
deacon  "  a  covert  allusion  to  the  modesty  of  the  individual  who 
never  blew  his  own  trumpet,  who  in  fact  had  not  so  much  as  a 
horn  of  his  own  to  blow.  This  may  be,  and  it  may  not  be.  We 
had  excogitated  that  idea  before,  and  did  not  feel  very  proud  of 
it,  but  there  may  be  something  in  it.  Certainly  we  know  of  dea- 
cons who  from  year  to  year  plod  away  at  the  pastor's  side,  glad 
to  perform  services  of  any  kind  so  long  as  God  is  glorified  and 
the  Church  is  prospered.  Seldom  are  their  names  mentioned  in 
public,  and  yet  they  are  the  mainstay  of  the  Church,  the  regu- 
lators of  her  order,  and  the  guardians  of  her  interests.  Some  of 
them  have  held  the  fort  in  troublous  times :  they  have  seen  a 
dozen  pastors  come  and  go,  but  they  abide  at  their  posts,  faithful 
under  discouragement,  hopeful  under  difficulty.  They  deserve 
great  praise,  and  as  they  are  "  hornless  "  we  would  for  once  sound 
the  horn  for  them. 

This  guess  hardly  satisfied  us,  and  so  our  friend  gave  us  another. 
We  sometimes  drink  out  of  a  horn ;  and  a  deacon,  according  to 
the  apostle,  is  not  to  be  "  given  to  much  wine."  Is  it,  therefore, 
claimed  by  our  friend  that  if  he  erred  at  all  he  erred  on  the  right 


THE  SWORD  AND  THE  TROWEL.  2/1 

side,  for  he  had  no  horn  at  all,  and  was  a  pledged  teetotaler? 
Very  good,  Mr.  Deacon  !  The  more  of  your  brethren  who  will 
copy  you  in  this  the  better,  so  long  as  they  do  not  make  the 
water-jug  the  symbol  of  their  lives,  and  pour  cold  water  over 
everything  and  everybody,  in  season  and  out  of  season. 

This  interpretation  we  feel  also  to  be  a  failure,  and  therefore  we 
will  try  once  more  on  our  own  account.  Can  it  mean  that  the 
good  deacon  did  not  sound  a  trumpet  before  him,  as  the  hypo- 
crites do,  when  he  was  distributing  his  alms?  Was  he  so  quiet 
in  his  generosity  that  not  even  a  penny  whistle  or  child's  horn 
proclaimed  his  deed  of  liberality?  Let  him  be  blessed  in  secret 
if  this  was  his  true  character;  but  surely  the  very  taking  of  the 
name  of  "  hornless  "  is  a  little  like  blowing  a  horn.  He  who 
denies  a  fault  claims  a  virtue ;  did  you  forget  this,  my  unhorned 
friend  ? 

The  above  expository  observations,  so  far  as  they  come  from 
our  learned  friend,  are  exceedingly  clever,  tolerably  far-fetched, 
and  in  all  respects  worthy  of  his  breadth  of  forehead ;  but  they 
do  not  quite  enable  us  to  see  through  the  expression,  and  we 
abandon  it  for  the  present  with  the  consoling  reflection  that  our 
Yankee  brethren  have  a  vivacious  style  of  speech  which  needs 
one  of  themselves  to  interpret  it. 


The  Berkshire  proverb  says,  "  There  be  more  ways  of  killing  a 
cat  than  by  choking  of  him  with  cream,"  and  surely  some  preach- 
ers appear  to  know  that  there  are  more  w^ays  of  wearying  a  hearer 
than  by  surfeiting  him  with  good,  sound,  creamy  doctrine.  Oh, 
for  a  sermon  with  something  in  it !  Never  mind  the  finicking  with 
the  cooking  and  the  carving ;  do  give  us  a  cut  of  gospel  truth ! 
Alas  !  we  too  often  get  "  Grantham  gruel,  —  nine  grits  and  a  gal- 
lon of  water,"  and  we  are  expected  to  praise  the  stuff  because  the 
basin  is  of  rare  china.  There  is  not  enough  in  it  to  make  soup 
for  a  grasshopper,  and  yet  we  are  called  upon  to  go  into  raptures 
because  what  there  is  of  it  is  soundly  evangelical. 

At  other  times  the  teaching  is  rather  queer  and  very  muddy, 
and    then    they    tell  us    that  the    parson    gives   us    little    doctrine 


272  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

because  he  is  thinking  it  out  and  has  not  yet  made  up  his  mind. 
Verily,  "  while  the  grass  grows  the  steed  starves,"  and  we  should 
be  far  better  off  if  the  Lord  would  send  us  some  of  the  old  sort 
of  experienced  men  of  God,  who  knew  what  they  did  know,  and 
fed  our  fathers  with  knowledge  and  understanding.  Our  miodern 
collegians  boast  of  being  independent  thinkers,  and  if  that  means 
that  they  are  not  to  be  depended  on  they  are  pretty  near  the  mark. 
They  pare  down  the  gospel  till,  as  the  Yankees  say,  "  it  is  shaved 
off  finer  than  the  small  end  of  nothing."  It  is  time  this  nonsense 
was  exploded.  Lord  Byron  said,  "  A  book  's  a  book,  although 
there's  nothing  in 't !  "  but  country  people  do  not  say  so  of  a 
sermon,  and  if  they  did,  we  are  not  all  bumpkins,  and  cannot  be 
quite  so  easily  satisfied. 


Now  is  the  season  for  paragraphs  in  the  newspapers  concerning 
gooseberries  which  are  twice  as  large  as  possible.  The  wonderful 
information  fills  up  a  corner  and  gratifies  the  lovers  of  the  mar- 
vellous, besides  illustrating  a  style  of  writing  which  is  by  no  means 
rare  even  among  religious  people. 

We  have  been  surprised  to  hear  of  "a  great  work"  in  a  place 
where  many  intelligent  residents  never  heard  of  any  "work"  what- 
ever. Accompanied  by  a  plea  for  funds,  we  have  seen  narratives 
which  have  been  written  by  excellent  persons,  in  which  the  de- 
scriptive adjectives  may  have  been  accurate  if  judged  by  the 
standard  of  their  writers,  but  were  certainly  inapplicable  to  the 
matter  in  hand  from  any  ordinary  person's  standpoint.  We 
thought  when  we  read  the  article  that  a  whole  neighborhood  had 
been  convulsed  if  not  converted;  but  on  inquiry  of  city  mission- 
aries and  Bible-women  we  found  that  nothing  particular  had 
happened,  —  at  least,  nothing  so  special  as  to  cause  excessive 
transports  to  the  most  hopeful. 

We  wish  certain  brethren  could  be  taught  to  speak  within 
bounds.  The  common  slang  of  the  day  talks  of  things  as 
"  awful,"  "  magnificent,"  "  splendid,"  &c.,  and  this  seems  to  have 
been  imported  into  religious  reporting.  It  is  mischievous,  how- 
ever, and  tends  to  damage  the  best  of  causes.     When  Christian 


THE  SWORD  AND  THE  TROWEL.  273 

people  find  things  overstated  they  lose  confidence,  and  in  the  case 
of  men  of  the  world  it  is  worse,  for  they  use  the  exaggeration  as 
material  for  jests.  It  is  always  better  to  be  under  the  mark  than 
over  it  when  we  are  describing  good  works  in  which  we  have  had 
a  hand.  We  must  not  put  into  print  those  sanguine  ideas  of 
things  which  our  hopeful  minds  create  in  our  excited  brains.  The 
cause  of  truth  can  never  be  aided  by  a  deviation  from  truth.  We 
may  win  applause  at  a  public  meeting  or  excite  admiration  in 
individuals  by  highly  colored  descriptions ;  but  the  time  comes 
for  investigation,  and  when  the  coloring  vanishes  we  are  sure  to 
be  held  in  disrepute  by  those  whom  we  deceived.  The  whole 
business  of  exaggeration  is  wrong,  and  must  never  be  tolerated 
in  ourselves  or  encouraged  in  others ;  even  the  suppression  of 
discouraging  facts  is  a  doubtful  piece  of  policy,  and  policy  is 
always  impolitic  in  Christian  work. 

Brethren  who  are  rather  apt  to  puff,  let  us  whisper  in  your  ears, 
leave  the  monstrous  gooseberries  to  the  newspapers,  and  speak 
every  man  truth  with  his  neighbor. 


One  would  hardly  have  thought  it  worth  an  author's  while  to 
compose  a  treatise  upon  "The  Art  of  Tormenting";  yet  such  a 
book  exists,  and  contains  many  ingenious  instructions  by  which 
masters,  husbands,  wives,  and  friends  may  torture  their  servants, 
relatives,  and  acquaintances  to  an  intolerable  degree.  To  quote 
any  of  the  writer's  suggestions  in  these  pages  would  be  useless, 
since  none  of  our  readers  wish  to  learn  the  science  of  plaguing 
others.  The  ingenious  writer,  a  lady,  by  the  way,  does  not 
recommend  the  clumsy  methods  of  Roman  emperors  and  Popish 
inquisitors,  by  which  it  is  possible  to  torment  the  bodies  of  men 
and  allow  the  mind  and  spirit  to  remain  at  peace ;  but  she  deals 
with  subtler  arts,  by  which  the  mind  can  be  lacerated  beyond  all 
cure  while  yet  no  wound  is  seen.  To  torture  the  heart  and  spirit 
of  a  man  is  far  more  cruel  than  to  tear  his  flesh  or  break  his 
bones.  One  sentiment  in  this  amusing  treatise  struck  us  as  singu- 
larly instructive  to  those  who  are  the  victims  of  malicious  criti- 
cism ;   the  author  says :   "  Be  very  careful  daily  to  observe  whether 

18 


274  ^Il^'E   AND    LABORS    OK   C.    U.    SPURCJEON. 

your  patient  continues  in  good  health,  and  is  fat  and  well-Hken ; 
for  if  so,  you  may  be  almost  certain  that  your  whole  labor  is 
thrown  away.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  you  perceive  this  to  be  the 
case,  you  must  (to  speak  in  the  phrase  of  surgeons  when  they 
hack  and  hew  a  human  body)  immediately  choose  another  sub- 
ject. All  the  pleasure  of  tormenting  is  lost  as  soon  as  your 
subject  becomes  insensible  to  your  strokes."  We  are  almost 
reconciled  to  being  corpulent  as  we  read  these  lines.  Herein  is 
wisdom.  Patience  baffles  malice :  the  malicious  themselves  con- 
fess their  defeat;  what  can  we  do  better  than  to  offer  the  passive 
resistance  which  is  seen  to  be  so  effective?  Let  us  no  longer 
gratify  our  enemies  by  taking  notice  of  their  cruel  observations 
and  venomous  insinuations.  If  we  are  callous  we  at  once  defeat 
them :  there  can  be  no  virtue  in  cultivating  a  sensitiveness  which 
makes  us  vulnerable.  The  more  we  smart,  the  more  they  will 
scourge;  but  a  back  of  leather  laughs  at  the  cat-o'-nine-tails.  By 
doing  our  best  at  all  times  we  shall  be  able  to  defy  all  the  criti- 
cisms of  on-lookers,  who,  doing  nothing  themselves,  have  all  the 
more  leisure  to  find  fault  with  our  honest  endeavors.  In  all  prob- 
ability we  shall  never  succeed  in  any  one  instance  in  pleasing  all 
who  call  themselves  our  friends ;  and  as  to  our  enemies,  they  will 
never  be  gratified  unless  they  see  us  guilty  of  gross  folly;  there- 
fore our  wisest  course  is  to  make  sure  of  being  right  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  then  to  proceed  in  a  straight  line  with  firm  tread, 
whether  we  offend  or  please.  The  desire  to  inflict  pain  is  in- 
grained in  some  natures,  and  against  these  there  is  no  defence 
except  a  manly  insensibility.  As  chemists  plunge  a  fabric  in  a 
solution  of  alum  and  thus  enable  it  to  defy  the  flames,  so  should 
we  immerse  ourselves  into  the  consciousness  of  desiring  to  do 
right  before  God,  and  we  shall  be  superior  to  the  fires  of  slander. 
We  are  not  able  to  abate  the  fury  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  furnace; 
but  if  we  can  walk  in  the  midst  of  it  unharmed,  the  result  will  be 
equally  harmless  and  far  more  sublime. 

Over  against  the  art  of  tormenting  let  us  set  the  philosophy  of 
enduring ;   our  bane  and  antidote  are  both  before  us. 


XXIL 


EDITORIALS. 


No  man  is  likely  to  accomplish  much  who  moodily  indulges  a  desponding 
view  of  his  own  capacities.  By  God's  help  the  weakest  of  us  may  be  strong, 
and  it  is  the  way  to  become  so,  to  resolve  never  to  give  up  a  good  work  till  we 
have  tried  our  best  to  achieve  it.  To  think  nothing  impossible  is  the  privilege 
of  faith.  We  deprecate  the  indolent  cowardice  of  the  man  who  always  felt 
assured  that  every  new  enterprise  would  be  too  much  for  him,  and  therefore 
dechned  it ;  but  we  admire  the  pluck  of  the  ploughman  who  was  asked  on  his 
cross-examination  if  he  could  read  Greek,  and  replied  he  did  not  know,  because 
he  had  never  tried.  Those  Suffolk  horses  which  will  pull  at  a  post  till  they 
drop  are  worth  a  thousand  times  as  much  as  jibbing  animals  that  run  back  as 
soon  as  ever  the  collar  begins  to  press  them.  —  C.   H.   Spurgeon. 


EDITORIALS. 


OUR  FIRST   SERMON. 

WE  remember  well  the  first  place  in  which  we  addressed  a 
congregation  of  adults,  and  the  wood-block  which  illus- 
trates this  number  of  the  magazine  sets  it  clearly  before  our 
mind's  eye.  It  was  not  our  first  public  address  by  a  great  many, 
for  both  at  Newmarket  and  Cambridge,  and  elsewhere,  the  Sab- 
bath-school had  afforded  us  ample  scope  for  speaking  the  gospel. 
At  Newmarket  especially  we  had  a  considerable  admixture  of 
grown-up  folks  in  the  audience,  for  many  came  to  hear  "  the  boy" 
give  addresses  to  the  school.  But  no  regular  set  discourse  to  a 
congregation  met  for  regular  worship  had  we  delivered  till  one 
eventful  Sabbath  evening,  which  found  us  in  a  cottage  at  Tever- 
sham,  holding  forth  before  a  little  assembly  of  humble  villagers. 

The  tale  is  not  a  new  one,  but  as  the  engraving  has  not  before 
been  seen  by  the  public  eye  we  must  shed  a  little  light  upon  it. 
There  is  a  Preachers'  Association  in  Cambridge  connected  with 
St.  Andrew's-street  Chapel,  once  the  scene  of  the  ministry  of 
Robert  Robinson  and  Robert  Hall,  and  now  of  our  beloved  friend 
Mr.  Tarn.  A  number  of  worthy  brethren  preach  the  gospel  in 
the  various  villages  surrounding  Cambridge,  taking  each  one  his 
turn  according  to  plan.  In  our  day  the  presiding  genius  was  the 
venerable  Mr.  James  Vinter,  whom  we  were  wont  to  address  as 
Bishop  Vinter.  His  genial  soul,  warm  heart,  and  kindly  manner 
were  enough  to  keep  a  whole  fraternity  stocked  with  love,  and 
accordingly  a  goodly  company  of  true  workers  belonged  to  the 


278  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

association,  and  labored  as  true  yoke-fellows.  Our  suspicion  is 
that  he  not  only  preached  himself  and  helped  his  brethren,  but 
that  he  was  a  sort  of  recruiting  sergeant,  and  drew  in  young  men 
to  keep  up  the  number  of  the  host;  at  least,  we  speak  from 
personal  experience  as  to  one  case. 

We  had  one  Saturday  finished  morning  school,  and  the  boys 
were  all  going  home  for  the  half-holiday,  when  in  came  the  afore- 
said "  bishop  "  to  ask  us  to  go  over  to  Teversham  next  Sunday 
evening,  for  a  young  man  was  to  preach  there  who  was  not  much 
used  to  services,  and  very  likely  would  be  glad  of  company. 
That  was  a  cunningly  devised  sentence,  if  we  remember  it  rightly, 
and  we  think  we  do ;  for  at  the  time,  in  the  light  of  that  Sunday 
evening's  revelation,  we  turned  it  over  and  vastly  admired  its 
ingenuity.  A  request  to  go  and  preach  would  have  met  with  a 
decided  negative ;  but  merely  to  act  as  company  to  a  good 
brother  who  did  not  like  to  be  lonely,  and  perhaps  might  ask  us 
to  give  out  a  hymn  or  to  pray,  was  not  at  all  a  difficult  matter,  and 
the  request,  understood  in  that  fashion,  was  cheerfully  complied 
with.  Little  did  the  lad  know  what  Jonathan  and  David  were 
doing  when  he  was  made  to  run  for  the  arrow,  and  as  little  knew 
we  when  we  were  cajoled  into  accompanying  a  young  man  to 
Teversham. 

Our  Sunday-school  work  was  over,  and  tea  had  been  taken,  and 
we  set  off  through  Barnwell,  and  away  along  the  Newmarket  Road, 
with  a  gentleman  some  few  years  our  senior.  We  talked  of  good 
things,  and  at  last  we  expressed  our  hope  that  he  would  feel  the 
presence  of  God  while  preaching.  He  seemed  to  start,  and 
assured  us  that  he  had  never  preached  in  his  life,  and  could  not 
attempt  such  a  thing;  he  was  looking  to  his  young  friend,  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  for  that.  This  was  a  new  view  of  the  situation,  and  I 
could  only  reply  that  I  was  no  minister,  and  that  even  if  I  had 
been  I  was  quite  unprepared.  My  companion  only  repeated  that 
he,  even  in  a  more  emphatic  sense,  was  not  a  preacher,  that  he 
would  help  me  in  any  other  part  of  the  service,  but  that  there 
would  be  no  sermon  unless  I  gave  them  one.  He  told  me  that 
if  I  repeated  one  of  my  Sunday-school  addresses  it  would  just 
suit  the  poor  people,  and  would  probably  give  them  more  satis- 


EDITORIALS.  279 

faction  than  the  studied  sermon  of  a  learned  divine.  I  felt  that 
I  was  fairly  committed  to  do  my  best.  I  walked  along  quietly, 
lifting  up  my  soul  to  God,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  surely 
tell  a  few  poor  cottagers  of  the  sweetness  and  love  of  Jesus,  for 
I  felt  them  in  my  own  soul.  Praying  for  divine  help,  I  resolved 
to  make  an  attempt.  My  text  should  be,  "  Unto  you  therefore 
which  believe  He  is  precious,"  and  I  would  trust  the  Lord  to  open 
my  mouth  in  honor  of  His  dear  Son.  It  seemed  a  great  risk  and 
a  serious  trial;  but,  depending  upon  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
I  would  at  least  tell  out  the  story  of  the  cross,  and  not  allow  the 
people  to  go  home  without  a  word.  We  entered  the  low-pitched 
room  of  the  thatched  cottage,  where  a  few  simple-minded  farm- 
laborers  and  their  wives  were  gathered  together;  we  sang  and 
prayed  and  read  the  Scriptures,  and  then  came  our  first  sermon. 
How  long  or  how  short  it  was  we  cannot  now  remember.  It  was 
not  half  such  a  task  as  we  had  feared  it  would  be,  but  we  were 
glad  to  see  our  way  to  a  fair  conclusion,  and  to  the  giving  out  of 
the  last  hymn.  To  our  own  delight  we  had  not  broken  down,  nor 
stopped  short  in  the  middle,  nor  been  destitute  of  ideas,  and  the 
desired  haven  was  in  view.  We  made  a  finish,  and  took  up  the 
book,  but  to  our  astonishment  an  aged  voice  cried  out,  "  Bless 
your  dear  heart,  how  old  are  you?  "  Our  very  solemn  reply  was, 
"  You  must  wait  till  the  service  is  over  before  making  any  such 
inquiries.  Let  us  now  sing."  We  did  sing,  and  the  young 
preacher  pronounced  the  benediction,  and  then  began  a  dialogue 
which  enlarged  into  a  warm,  friendly  talk,  in  which  everybody 
appeared  to  take  part.  "How  old  are  you?"  was  the  leading 
question.  "  I  am  under  sixty,"  was  the  reply.  "  Yes,  and  under 
sixteen,"  was  the  old  lady's  rejoinder.  "  Never  mind  my  age, 
think  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  His  preciousness,"  was  all  that  I  could 
say,  after  promising  to  come  again  if  the  gentlemen  at  Cambridge 
thought  me  fit  to  do  so.  Very  great  and  profound  was  our  awe 
of  those  "  gentlemen  at  Cambridge  "  in  those  days. 

Are  there  not  other  young  men  who  might  begin  to  speak  for 
Jesus  in  some  such  lowly  fashion,  —  young  men  who  hitherto  have 
been  mute  as  fishes?  Our  villages  and  hamlets  offer  fine  oppor- 
tunities for  youthful  speakers.      Let  them  not  wait  till  they  are 


28o  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

invited  to  a  chapel,  or  have  prepared  a  fine  essay,  or  have  secured 
an  intelligent  audience.  If  they  will  go  and  tell  out  from  their 
hearts  what  the  Lord  Jesus  has  done  for  them,  they  will  find  ready 
listeners. 

Many  of  our  young  folks  want  to  do  great  things,  and  therefore 
do  nothing  at  all;  let  none  of  our  readers  become  the  victims  of 
such  an  unreasonable  ambition.  He  who  is  willing  to  teach 
infants,  or  to  give  away  tracts,  and  so  to  begin  at  the  beginning, 
is  far  more  likely  to  be  useful  than  the  youth  who  is  full  of  affec- 
tations and  sleeps  in  a  white  necktie,  who  is  studying  for  the 
ministry,  and  is  touching  up  certain  superior  manuscripts  which 
he  hopes  ere  long  to  read  from  the  pastor's  pulpit.  He  who  talks 
upon  plain  gospel  themes  in  a  farmer's  kitchen,  and  is  able  to 
interest  the  carter's  boy  and  the  dairymaid,  has  more  of  the  minis- 
ter in  him  than  the  prim  little  man  who  talks  for  ever  about  being 
cultured,  and  means  by  that  —  being  taught  to  use  words  which 
nobody  can  understand.  To  make  the  very  poorest  listen  with 
pleasure  and  profit  is  in  itself  an  achievement,  and  beyond  this  it 
is  the  best  possible  promise  and  preparation  for  an  influential 
ministry.  Let  our  younger  brethren  go  in  for  cottage  preaching, 
and  plenty  of  it.  If  there  is  no  lay  preachers'  association,  let 
them  work  by  themselves.  The  expense  is  not  very  great  for 
rent,  candles,  and  a  few  forms ;  many  a  young  man's  own  pocket- 
money  would  cover  it  all.  No  isolated  group  of  houses  should  be 
left  without  its  preaching-room,  no  hamlet  without  its  evening 
service.     This  is  the  lesson  of  the  thatched  cottage  at  Teversham. 


TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS   AGO. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  we  walked  on  a  Sabbath  morning, 
according  to  our  wont,  from  Cambridge  to  the  village  of  Water- 
beach,  in  order  to  occupy  the  pulpit  of  the  little  Baptist  Chapel. 
It  was  a  country  road,  and  there  were  four  or  five  honest  miles 
of  it,  which  we  usually  measured  each  Sunday  foot  by  foot,  unless 
we  happened  to  be  met  by  a  certain  little  pony  and  cart  which 


EDITORIALS.  28l 

came  half  way,  but  could  not  by  any  possibility  venture  further 
because  of  the  enormous  expense  which  would  have  been  incurred 
by  driving  through  the  toll-gate  at  Milton.  That  winter's  morning 
we  were  all  aglow  with  our  walk,  and  ready  for  our  pulpit  exer- 
cises. Sitting  down  in  the  table-pew,  a  letter  was  passed  to  us 
bearing  the  postmark  of  London.  It  was  an  unusual  missive,  and 
was  opened  with  curiosity.  It  contained  an  invitation  to  preach 
at  New  Park-street  Chapel,  Southwark,  the  pulpit  of  which  had 
formerly  been  occupied  by  Dr.  Rippon,  —  the  very  Dr.  Rippon 
whose  hymn-book  was  then  before  us  upon  the  table,  the  great 
Dr.  Rippon,  out  of  whose  Selection  we  were  about  to  choose 
hymns  for  our  worship.  The  late  Dr.  Rippon  seemed  to  hover 
over  us  as  an  immeasurably  great  man,  the  glory  of  whose  name 
covered  New  Park-street  Chapel  and  its  pulpit  with  awe  unspeak- 
able. We  quietly  passed  the  letter  across  the  table  to  the  deacon 
who  gave  out  the  hymns,  observing  that  there  was  some  mistake, 
and  that  the  letter  must  have  been  intended  for  a  Mr.  Spurgeon 
who  preached  somewhere  down  in  Norfolk.  He  shook  his  head, 
and  observed  that  he  was  afraid  there  was  no  mistake,  as  he  always 
knew  that  his  minister  would  be  run  away  with  by  some  large 
church  or  other,  but  that  he  was  a  little  surprised  that  the  Lon- 
doners should  have  heard  of  him  quite  so  soon.  "  Had  it  been 
Cottenham,  or  St.  Ives,  or  Huntingdon,"  said  he,  "  I  should  not 
have  wondered  at  all ;  but  going  to  London  is  rather  a  great  step 
from  this  little  place."  He  shook  his  head  very  gravely ;  but  the 
time  was  come  for  us  to  look  out  the  hymns,  and  therefore  the 
letter  was  put  away,  and,  as  far  as  we  can  remember,  was  for  the 
day  quite  forgotten,  even  as  a  dead  man  out  of  mind. 

On  the  following  Monday  an  answer  was  sent  to  London,  in- 
forming the  deacon  of  the  church  at  Park  Street  that  he  had  fallen 
into  an  error  in  directing  his  letter  to  Waterbeach,  for  the  Baptist 
minister  of  that  village  was  very  little  more  than  nineteen  years 
of  age,  and  quite  unqualified  to  occupy  a  London  pulpit.  In  due 
time  came  another  epistle,  setting  forth  that  the  former  letter  had 
been  written  in  perfect  knowledge  of  the  young  preacher's  age, 
and  had  been  intended  for  him,  and  him  alone.  The  request  of 
the  former  letter  was  repeated  and  pressed,  a  date  mentioned  for 


282  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF    C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

the  journey  to  London,  and  the  place  appointed  at  which  the 
preacher  would  find  lodging.  That  invitation  was  accepted,  and 
as  the  result  thereof  the  boy  preacher  of  the  Fens  took  his  post 
in  London. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  - —  and  yet  it  seems  but  yesterday  —  we 
lodged  for  the  night  at  a  boarding-house  in  Queen  Square,  Blooms- 
bury,  to  which  the  worthy  deacon  directed  us.  As  we  wore  a  huge 
black  satin  stock,  and  used  a  blue  handkerchief  with  white  spots, 
the  young  gentlemen  of  that  boarding-house  marvelled  greatly  at 
the  youth  from  the  country  who  had  come  up  to  preach  in  London, 
but  who  was  evidently  in  the  condition  known  as  verdant  green. 
They  were  mainly  of  the  evangelical  church  persuasion,  and 
seemed  greatly  tickled  that  the  country  lad  should  be  a  preacher. 
They  did  not  propose  to  go  and  hear  the  youth,  but  they  seemed 
to  tacitly  agree  to  encourage  him  after  their  own  fashion,  and  we 
were  encouraged  accordingly.  What  tales  were  narrated  of  the 
great  divines  of  the  metropolis  and  their  congregations !  One 
we  remember  had  a  thousand  city  men  to  hear  him,  another 
had  his  church  filled  with  tJioiightfiil  people,  such  as  could  hardly 
be  matched  all  over  England,  while  a  third  had  an  immense  audi- 
ence, almost  entirely  composed  of  the  young  men  of  London,  who 
were  spell-bound  by  his  eloquence.  The  study  which  these  men 
underwent  in  composing  their  sermons,  their  herculean  toils  in 
keeping  up  their  congregations,  and  the  matchless  oratory  which 
they  exhibited  on  all  occasions  were  duly  rehearsed  in  our  hear- 
ing; and  when  we  were  shown  to  bed  in  a  cupboard  over  the 
front  door  we  were  not  in  an  advantageous  condition  for  pleasant 
dreams.  Park-street  hospitality  never  sent  the  young  minister  to 
that  far-away  hired  room  again;  but  assuredly  the  Saturday  even- 
ing in  a  London  boarding-house  was  about  the  most  depressing^ 
agency  which  could  have  been  brought  to  bear  upon  our  spirit. 
On  the  narrow  bed  we  tossed  in  solitary  misery  and  found  no  pity. 
Pitiless  was  the  grind  of  the  cabs  in  the  street;  pitiless  the  recol- 
lection of  the  young  city  clerks  whose  grim  propriety  had  gazed 
upon  our  rusticity  with  such  amusement;  pitiless  the  spare  room, 
which  scarce  afi"orded  space  to  kneel ;  pitiless  even  the  gas-lamps 
which  seemed  to  wink  at  us  as  they  flickered  amid  the  December 


EDITORIALS.  283 

darkness.  We  had  no  friend  in  all  that  city  full  of  human  beings, 
but  we  felt  among  strangers  and  foreigners,  hoped  to  be  helped 
through  the  scrape  into  which  we  had  been  brought,  and  to  escape 
safely  to  the  serene  abodes  of  Cambridge  and  Waterbeach,  which 
then  seemed  to  be  Eden  itself 

Twenty-five  years  ago  it  was  a  clear,  cold  morning,  and  we 
wended  our  way  along  Holborn  Hill  towards  Blackfriars  and  cer- 
tain tortuous  lanes  and  alleys  at  the  foot  of  Southwark  Bridge. 
Wondering,  praying,  fearing,  hoping,  believing,  —  we  felt  all  alone 
and  yet  not  alone.  Expectant  of  divine  help,  and  inwardly  borne 
down  by  our  sense  of  the  need  of  it,  we  traversed  a  dreary  wilder- 
ness of  brick  to  find  the  spot  where  our  message  must  needs  be 
delivered.  One  word  rose  to  our  lip  many  times,  we  scarce  know 
why,  —  "  He  must  needs  go  through  Samaria."  The  necessity  of 
our  Lord's  journeying  in  a  certain  direction  is  no  doubt  repeated 
in  His  servants,  and  as  our  present  journey  was  not  of  our  seeking, 
and  had  been  by  no  means  pleasing  so  far  as  it  had  gone,  —  the 
one  thought  of  a  "  needs  be  "  for  it  seemed  to  overtop  every  other. 
At  sight  of  Park-street  Chapel  we  felt  for  a  moment  amazed  at  our 
own  temerity,  for  it  seemicd  to  our  eyes  to  be  a  large,  ornate,  and 
imposing  structure,  suggesting  an  audience  wealthy  and  critical, 
and  far  removed  from  the  humble  folk  to  whom  our  ministry  had 
been  sweetness  and  light.  It  was  early,  so  there  were  no  persons 
entering,  and  when  the  set  time  was  fully  come  there  were  no 
signs  to  support  the  suggestion  raised  by  the  exterior  of  the  build- 
ing, and  we  felt  that  by  God's  help  we  were  not  yet  out  of  our 
depth,  and  were  not  likely  to  be  with  so  small  an  audience.  The 
Lord  helped  us  very  graciously ;  we  had  a  happy  Sabbath  in  the 
pulpit,  and  spent  the  intervals  with  warm-hearted  friends ;  and 
when  at  night  we  trudged  back  to  the  Queen-square  narrow  lodg- 
ing vvc  were  not  alone,  and  we  no  longer  looked  on  Londoners  as 
flinty-hearted  barbarians.  Our  tone  was  altered ;  we  wanted  no 
pity  of  any  one ;  we  did  not  care  a  penny  for  the  young  gentlemen 
lodgers  and  their  miraculous  ministers,  nor  for  the  grind  of  the 
cabs,  nor  for  anything  else  under  the  sun.  The  lion  had  been 
looked  at  all  round,  and  his  majesty  did  not  appear  to  be  a  tenth 
as  majestic  as  when  we  had  only  heard  his  roar  miles  away. 


284  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPUROEON. 

These  arc  small  matters,  but  they  rise  before  us  as  we  look  over 
the  twenty-five  years'  space  which  has  intervened :  they  are  the 
haze  of  that  other  shore  between  which  rolls  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury of  mercy.     At  the  review  we  are   lost  in  a  rush  of  mingled 

feelings.     "  With  my  staff  I  crossed  this  Jordan,  and  now ." 

Our  ill  health  at  this  moment  scarcely  permits  us  either  to  hold 
a  pen  or  to  dictate  words  to  another ;  we  must  therefore  leave  till 
another  season  such  utterances  of  gratitude  as  the  fulness  of  our 
heart  may  permit  us.  Common  blessings  may  find  a  tongue  at 
any  moment,  but  favors  such  as  we  have  received  of  the  Lord 
throughout  this  semi-jubilee  are  not  to  be  acknowledged  fitly  with 
the  tongues  of  men  or  of  angels,  unless  a  happy  inspiration  should 
bear  the  thankful  one  beyond  himself. 

The  following  items  must,  however,  be  recorded :  they  are  but 
as  a  handful  gleaned  among  the  sheaves.  To  omit  mention  of 
them  would  be  ingratitude  against  which  stones  might  justly  cry 
out. 

A  church  has  been  maintained  in  order,  vigor,  and  loving  unity 
during  all  this  period.  Organized  upon  the  freest  basis,  even  to 
democracy,  yet  has  there  been  seen  among  us  a  discipline  and  a 
compact  oneness  never  excelled.  Men  and  women  associated  by 
thousands,  and  each  one  imperfect,  are  not  kept  in  perfect  peace 
by  human  means ;  there  is  a  mystic  spirit  moving  among  them 
which  alone  could  have  held  them  as  the  heart  of  one  man.  No 
schism  or  heresy  has  sprung  up  among  us ;  division  has  been  far 
from  us ;  co-pastorship  has  engendered  no  rivalry,  and  the  illness 
of  the  senior  officer  has  led  to  no  disorder.  Hypocrites  and  tem- 
porary professors  have  gone  out  from  us  because  they  were  not 
of  us,  but  we  are  still  one  even  as  at  the  first;  perhaps  more  truly 
one  than  ever  at  any  former  instant  of  our  history.  One  in  hearty 
love  to  our  redeeming  Lord,  to  His  glorious  gospel,  to  the  ordi- 
nances of  His  house,  and  to  one  another  as  brethren  in  Christ. 
Shall  not  the  God  of  peace  receive  our  humble  praises  for  this 
unspeakable  boon? 

The  church  has  continued  steadily  to  increase  year  by  year. 
There  have  not  been  leaps  of  progress  and  then  painful  pauses  of 
decline.     On  and  on  the  host  has  marched,  gathering  recruits  each 


EDITORIALS.  285 

month,  filling  up  the  gaps  created  by  death  or  by  removal,  and 
steadily  proceeding  towards  and  beyond  its  maximum,  which  lies 
over  the  border  of  five  thousand  souls.  One  year  may  have  been 
better  than  another,  but  not  to  any  marked  extent;  there  has  been 
a  level  richness  in  the  harvest  field,  a  joyful  average  in  the  crop. 
Unity  of  heart  has  been  accompanied  by  uniformity  of  prosperity. 
Work  has  not  been  done  in  spurts,  enterprises  have  not  been  com- 
menced and  abandoned ;  every  advance  has  been  maintained  and 
has  become  the  vantage  ground  for  yet  another  aggression  upon 
the  enemy's  territory.  Faults  there  have  been  in  abundance,  but 
the  good  Lord  has  not  suffered  them  to  hinder  progress  or  to  pre- 
vent success.  The  Bridegroom  has  remained  with  us,  and  as  yet 
the  days  of  fasting  have  not  been  proclaimed ;  rather  has  the  joy 
of  the  Lord  been  from  day  to  day  our  strength. 

The  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  has  been  continually  preached 
from  the  first  day  until  now,  —  the  same  gospel,  we  trust,  accom- 
panied with  growing  experience  and  appreciation  and  knowledge, 
but  not  another  gospel,  nor  even  another  form  of  the  same  gospel. 
From  week  to  week  the  sermons  have  been  issued  from  the  press, 
till  the  printed  sermons  now  number  1,450.  These  have  enjoyed 
a  very  remarkable  circulation  in  our  own  country,  and  in  the 
Colonies  and  America ;  and,  besides  being  scattered  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  wherever  the  English  tongue  is  spoken,  they  have 
been  translated  into  almost  every  language  spoken  by  Christian 
people,  and  into  some  of  the  tongues  of  the  heathen  besides. 
What  multitudes  of  conversions  have  come  of  these  messengers 
of  mercy  eternity  alone  will  disclose :  we  have  heard  enough  to 
make  our  cup  run  over  with  unutterable  delight.  Shall  not  the 
God  of  boundless  goodness  be  extolled  and  adored  for  this?  The 
reader  cannot  know  so  well  as  the  preacher  what  this  printing  of 
sermons  involves.  This  is  a  tax  upon  the  brain  of  a  most  serious 
kind,  and  yet  it  has  been  endured,  and  still  the  public  read  the 
sermons,  —  best  proof  that  all  their  freshness  has  not  departed. 
O  Lord,  all  our  fresh  springs  are  in  Thee,  else  had  our  ministry 
long  since  been  dried  up  at  the  fountain,  the  unction  would  have 
departed,  and  the  power  would  have  fled.  Unto  the  Eternal  Spirit 
be  infinite  glory  for  His  long  forbearance  and  perpetual  aid. 


286  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Nursed  up  at  the  sides  of  the  Church,  supported  by  her  Hberal- 
ity,  fostered  by  her  care,  and  watched  over  by  her  love,  hundreds 
of  young  men  have  been  trained  for  the  ministry,  and  have  gone 
forth  everywhere  preaching  the  Word.  Of  these  some  few  have 
fallen  asleep,  but  the  great  majority  still  remain  in  the  ministry 
at  home  and  in  the  mission  field,  faithful  to  the  things  which  they 
learned  in  their  youth,  and  persevering  in  the  proclamation  of  the 
same  gospel  which  is  dear  to  the  Mother  Church.  When  we  think 
of  the  four  hundred  brethren  preaching  the  gospel  at  this  moment, 
of  the  many  churches  which  they  have  formed,  and  of  the  meeting- 
houses they  have  built,  we  must  magnify  the  name  of  the  Lord  who 
has  wrought  by  so  feeble  an  instrumentality. 

Evangelists  are  now  supported  by  the  agency  at  the  Tabernacle, 
and  sent  forth  hither  and  thither  to  arouse  the  churches.  Upon 
this  effort  a  special  blessing  has  rested,  enough  to  fill  all  hearts 
with  delighted  thankfulness. 

During  a  considerable  period  hundreds  of  orphans  have  been 
fed  and  clothed  and  trained  for  time  and  eternity  beneath  the 
wings  of  the  Church  of  God,  and  many  scores  of  these  are  now 
engaged  in  honorable  business,  prospering  in  life,  in  membership 
with  Christian  churches,  and  delighting  to  own  themselves  in  a 
special  manner  children  of  the  Tabernacle,  sons  of  the  Stockwell 
Orphanage.  This  is  a  well-spring  of  joy  sufficient  for  a  life.  Those 
who  have  labored  with  us  in  this  holy  work  have  a  wealth  of  satis- 
faction in  looking  back  upon  the  way  wherein  the  Lord  hath  led 
us  in  this  benevolent  enterprise.  Both  the  providence  and  the 
grace  of  God  have  been  abundantly  illustrated  in  this  delightful 
service.  If  the  story  could  ever  be  fully  written  —  as  it  never  can 
be  —  it  would  redound  to  the  praise  of  the  faithful,  promise-keep- 
ing Saviour,  who  said  to  us  at  the  first,  "  My  God  shall  supply  all 
your  need  according  to  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus." 

Nor  is  this  all,  nor  can  all  be  told.  An  army  of  colporteurs  at 
this  present  moment  covers  our  country;  ninety  or  more  men  are 
going  from  house  to  house  with  the  Word  of  God  and  pure  litera- 
ture, endeavoring  to  enlighten  the  dark  hamlets,  and  to  reach  the 
neglected  individuals  who  pine  alone  upon  their  sick  beds.  Priest- 
craft  is   thus   assailed   by   an   agency  which   it   little   expected   to 


EDITORIALS.  287 

encounter.  Where  a  Nonconformist  ministry  could  not  be  sus- 
tained for  want  of  means,  a  testimony  has  been  kept  ahve  which 
has  sufficed  to  fetch  out  the  chosen  of  the  Lord  from  amid  the 
gloom  of  superstition,  and  lead  the  Lord's  elect  away  from  priests 
and  sacraments  to  Christ  and  the  one  great  Sacrifice  for  sin.  This 
work  grows  and  must  grow  from  year  to  year. 

The  poor  but  faithful  ministers  of  our  Lord  have  had  some  little 
comfort  rendered  to  them  by  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  work,  which  has 
supplied  them  with  parcels  of  useful  books :  a  work  which  is  only 
ours,  and  yet  most  truly  ours,  because  it  is  performed  in  constant 
pain  and  frequent  anguish  by  her  who  is  our  best  of  earthly  bless- 
ings. The  book  fund  has  a  note  all  its  own,  but  we  could  not 
refrain  from  hearing  it  as  it  swells  the  blessed  harmony  of  service 
done  during  the  twenty-five  years.  "  She  that  tarried  at  home 
divided  the  spoil." 

Time  would  fail  us  to  rehearse  the  whole  of  the  other  enter- 
prises which  have  sprung  up  around  us ;  and  were  we  inclined  to 
do  so,  and  to  become  a  fool  in  glorying,  we  should  not  be  able, 
for  bodily  weakness  plucks  us  by  the  sleeve  and  cries  "  Forbear ! " 
We  will  forbear,  but  not  till  we  have  exclaimed,  "  What  hath  God 
wrought !  "  Nor  till  we  have  noted  with  peculiar  gratitude  that 
to  us  is  doubly  fulfilled  the  promise,  "  Instead  of  the  fathers  shall 
be  the  children."  Our  sons  have  already  begun  to  fulfil  our 
lack  of  service,  and  will  do  so  more  and  more  if  our  infirmities 
increase. 

It  was  right  and  seemly  that  at  the  close  of  this  period  of  twenty- 
five  years  some  testimonial  should  be  offered  to  the  pastor.  The 
like  has  been  worthily  done  in  other  cases,  and  brethren  have 
accepted  a  sum  of  money  which  they  well  deserved,  and  which 
they  have  very  properly  laid  aside  as  a  provision  for  their  families. 
In  our  case  it  did  not  seem  to  us  at  all  fitting  that  the  offering 
should  come  into  our  own  purse ;  our  conscience  and  heart  re- 
volted from  the  idea.  We  could  without  sin  have  accepted  the 
gift  for  our  own  need,  but  it  seemed  not  to  be  right.  We  have 
been  so  much  more  in  the  hands  of  God  than  most,  so  much  less 
an  agent  and  so  much  more  an  instrument,  that  we  could  not  claim 
a  grain  of  credit.     Moreover,  the  dear  and  honored  brethren  and 


288  LIFE   AND    LAHCJRS    OF    C,    H.    SPURGEON. 

sisters  in  Christ  who  have  surrounded  us  these  many  years  have 
really  themselves  done  the  bulk  of  the  work,  and  God  forbid  that 
we  should  monopolize  honor  which  belongs  to  all  the  saints  !  Let 
the  offering  come  by  all  means,  but  let  it  return  to  the  source 
from  whence  it  came.  There  are  many  poor  in  the  church,  far 
more  than  friends  at  a  distance  would  imagine,  —  many  of  the 
most  godly  poor,  "  widows  indeed,"  and  partakers  of  the  poverty 
of  Christ.  To  aid  the  church  in  its  holy  duty  of  remembering  the 
poor,  which  is  the  nearest  approach  to  remembering  Christ  Him- 
self, seemed  to  us  to  be  the  highest  use  of  money ;  the  testimonial 
will,  therefore,  go  to  support  the  aged  sisters  in  the  almshouses, 
and  thus  it  will  actually  relieve  the  funds  of  the  church  which  are 
appropriated  to  the  weekly  relief  of  the  necessitous.  May  the 
Lord  Jesus  accept  this  cup  of  cold  water  which  is  offered  in  His 
name  !  We  see  the  Lord's  servants  fetching  for  us  water  from  the 
well  of  Bethlehem  which  is  within  the  gate,  and  as  we  see  them 
cheerfully  and  generously  setting  it  at  our  feet  we  thank  them, — 
thank  them  with  tears  in  our  eyes,  —  but  we  feel  that  we  must  not 
drink  thereof;  it  must  be  poured  out  before  the  Lord.  So  let  it 
be.     O  Lord,  accept  it ! 


SWEET  FRUIT  FROM  A  THORNY  TREE. 

When  our  Heavenly  Father  "  puts  His  hand  into  the  bitter 
box  "  and  weighs  out  to  us  a  portion  of  wormwood  and  gall  in 
the  form  of  bodily  pain  we  very  naturally  ask  the  reason  why. 
Nature  suggests  the  question  at  times  in  petulance  and  gets  no 
answer;  faith  only  asks  it  with  bated  breath  and  gains  a  gracious 
reply.  Our  Lord  has  a  right  to  do  as  He  wills  with  us,  and  His 
dispensations  are  not  to  be  challenged  as  though  He  were  bound 
to  give  an  account  of  His  doings  at  the  bar  of  our  bewildered 
reason.  Still,  with  the  full  persuasion  that  the  Lord  ever  acts 
in  love  and  wisdom,  we  may  inquire  into  His  design,  and  so  far 
as  experience  can  help  us  we  may  see  what  comes  of  the  suffering 
which  He  inflicts.     What  are  the  "  comfortable  fruits  of  righteous- 


EDITORIALS.  289 

ness  "  which  arc  produced  by  watering  the  soul  from  the  bitter 
lakes?  What  are  the  jewels  of  silver  and  gold  with  which  we  are 
adorned  when  we  come  up  from  the  Egyptian  bondage  of  pain 
and  weariness?  I,  who  have  of  late  been  a  prisoner  of  the 
Lord  in  the  sick  chamber,  would  witness  my  confession  as  He 
enables  me. 

Pain  teaches  us  our  nothingness.  Health  permits  us  to  swell 
in  self-esteem,  and  gather  much  which  is  unreal ;  sickness  makes 
our  feebleness  conspicuous,  and  at  the  same  time  breaks  up  many 
of  our  shams.  We  need  solid  grace  when  we  are  thrown  into  the 
furnace  of  affliction :  gilt  and  tinsel  shrivel  up  in  the  fire.  The 
patience  in  which  we  somewhat  prided  ourselves,  where  is  it  when 
sharp  pangs  succeed  each  other  like  poisoned  arrows  setting  the 
blood  on  flame?  The  joyful  faith  which  could  do  all  things  and 
bear  all  sufferings,  is  it  always  at  hand  when  the  time  of  trial  has 
arrived?  The  peace  which  stood  aloft  on  the  mountain's  summit 
and  serenely  smiled  on  storms  beneath,  does  it  hold  its  ground 
quite  so  easily  as  we  thought  it  would  when  at  our  ease  we  proph- 
esied our  behavior  in  the  day  of  battle?  How  have  I  felt  dwarfed 
and  diminished. by  pain  and  depression!  The  preacher  to  thou- 
sands could  creep  into  a  nutshell,  and  feel  himself  smaller  than 
the  worm  which  bored  the  tiny  round  hole  by  which  he  entered. 
I  have  admired  and  envied  the  least  of  my  Lord's  servants,  and 
desired  their  prayers  for  me,  though  I  felt  unworthy  of  the  kind 
thoughts  of  the  weakest  of  them.  We  are  most  of  us  by  far  too 
great.  A  soap  bubble  has  a  scant  measure  of  material  in  it  for 
its  size,  and  most  of  us  are  after  the  same  order ;  it  is  greatly  for 
our  good  to  be  reduced  to  our  true  dimensions.  It  is  comfortable 
to  be  small ;  one  has  more  room  and  needs  less,  and  is  better  able 
to  hide  away.  When  storms  are  out,  a  low  bush  or  narrow  eaves 
may  shelter  a  sparrow,  while  a  larger  bird  must  bear  the  beat  of 
the  rain  and  the  wind.  To  be  nothing,  and  to  feel  less  than  noth- 
ing, is  most  sweet,  for  then  we  cower  down  under  the  great  wings 
of  God  as  the  little  chick  beneath  the  brooding  hen,  and  in  utter 
helplessness  we  find  our  strength  and  solace.  Nothing  goes  but 
that  which  ought  to  go  ;  the  flower  falls,  but  the  seed  ripens ;  the 
froth  is  blown    away,  but  the  wines  on  the   lees  are  perfected. 

19 


290  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

When  nought  remains  but  the  clinging  of  a  weeping  child  who 
grasps  his  Father's  hand,  nought  but  the  smiting  on  the  breast 
of  the  publican  who  cries,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner," 
nought  but  the  last  resolve,  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust 
in  Him,"  no  real  loss  has  been  sustained,  say  rather  a  great  gain 
has  come  to  the  humbled  heart. 

Heavy  sickness  and  crushing  pain  shut  out  from  us  a  thousand 
minor  cares.  We  cannot  now  be  cumbered  with  much  serving,  for 
others  must  take  our  place  and  play  the  Martha  in  our  stead;  and 
it  is  well  if  then  we  are  enabled  to  take  Mary's  place  as  nearly  as 
possible  and  lie  at  Jesus'  feet  if  we  cannot  sit  there.  With  me  it 
has  been  so.  That  beloved  congregation  and  church,  I  could  do 
nothing  for  them ;  I  must  perforce  leave  them  with  the  Great 
Shepherd  and  those  dear  associates  whom  He  has  called  to  share 
m^  burden.  Those  orphans,  how  could  I  watch  over  them? 
Those  students,  how  could  I  instruct  them?  Those  colporteurs, 
how  could  I  provide  for  them?  What  if  funds  run  low?  They 
must  do  so;  I  could  not  increase  the  flow  of  the  brook  Cherith, 
nor  even  find  out  a  widow  of  Zarephath  whose  barrel  of  meal  and 
cruse  of  oil  should  never  waste.  The  Lord  must  do  all  or  it  must 
remain  undone.  The  weary  head  could  only  exaggerate  the  need ; 
the  sinking  spirits  could  not  suggest  a  supply.  All  must  be  left; 
yes,  insist  be  left.  The  reins  drop  from  the  driver's  hands ;  the 
ploughman  forgets  the  furrow;  the  seed-basket  hangs  no  longer 
on  the  sower's  arm.  Thus  is  the  soul  shut  in  with  God  as  within  a 
wall  of  fire,  and  all  her  thought  must  be  of  Him  and  of  His  promise 
and  His  help ;  grateful  if  but  such  thoughts  will  come,  and  forced 
if  they  come  not  just  to  lie  as  one  dead  at  the  feet  of  the  great 
Lord  and  look  up  and  hope.  This  cutting  loose  from  earthly 
shores,  this  rehearsal  of  what  must  soon  be  done  once  for  all  in 
the  hour  of  departure  is  a  salutary  exercise,  tending  to  cut  away 
the  hampering  besetments  of  this  mortal  life,  and  make  us  freer 
for  the  heavenly  race.  It  is  well  to  have  the  windows  shut  which 
look  towards  earth  and  its  cares,  that  we  may  be  driven  to  that 
fairer  prospect  which  lies  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan.  This  is  not 
the  natural  eff"ect  of  pain,  but  when  the  Spirit  of  God  works  by  it 
the  help  that  way  is  wonderful. 


EDITORIALS.  29 1 

Sickness  has  caused  many  workers  to  become  more  intense  when 
they  have  again  been  favored  to  return  to  their  place.  We  he  and 
bemoan  our  shortcomings,  perceiving  fault  where  it  had  in  health- 
ier hours  escaped  observation,  resolving,  in  God's  strength,  to 
throw  our  energies  more  fully  into  the  weightiest  matters,  and 
spend  less  of  force  on  secondary  things.  How  much  of  lasting 
good  may  come  of  this !  The  time  apparently  wasted  may  turn 
out  to  be  a  real  economy  of  life  if  the  worker  for  years  to  come 
shall  be  more  earnest,  more  careful,  more  prayerful,  more  depend- 
ent upon  God,  more  passionately  set  upon  doing  his  Lord's  busi- 
ness thoroughly.  Oh,  that  we  could  all  thus  improve  our  forced 
retirements !  Then  should  we  come  forth  like  the  sun  from  the 
chambers  of  the  east,  all  the  brighter  for  the  night's  chill  darkness, 
while  about  us  would  be  the  dew  of  the  Spirit  and  the  freshness 
of  a  new  dawning.  Sickness  would  be  as  a  going  into  the  desert 
to  rest  awhile,  or  as  a  bath  from  which  a  man  arises  with  shining 
face.  Oh,  that  it  might  be  so  with  me !  My  Lord,  vouchsafe  it 
for  the  sake  of  the  many  to  whom  these  hands  must  yet  break 
the  bread  of  life.  They  say  that  pearls  are  bred  in  the  oyster  by 
disease ;  may  our  graces  be  such  pearls.  Falling  leaves  enrich  the 
soil  about  the  forest  tree;  would  God  that  our  weeping  autumns 
would  yield  us  fairer  springs  and  larger  growths.  May  the  Divine 
Spirit  cause  it  so  to  be  !  If  but  one  or  two  of  His  people  shall 
profit  by  my  keen  pains,  I  will  thank  Him  heartily. 

Pain,  if  sanctified,  creates  tenderness  towards  others.  Alone  it 
may  harden  and  shut  up  the  man  within  himself,  a  student  of  his 
own  nerves  and  ailments,  a  hater  of  all  who  would  pretend  to  rival 
him  in  suffering;  but,  mixed  with  grace,  our  aches  and  pains  are 
an  ointment  suppling  the  heart  and  causing  the  milk  of  human 
kindness  to  fill  the  breast.  The  poor  are  tender  to  the  poor,  and 
the  sick  feel  for  the  sick  when  their  afflictions  have  wrought  after 
a  healthful  fashion.  One  could  have  wished  to  give  the  gruff, 
unsympathetic  boor  a  twist  or  two  of  rheumatism,  were  it  not  that 
our  experience  would  make  us  for  pity's  sake  spare  even  him. 
Surely  they  who  first  founded  hospitals  were  not  always  well  them- 
selves. Grief  has  been  full  oft  the  mother  of  mercy,  and  the  pangs 
of  sickness   have   been   the   birth-throes   of  compassion.      If  our 


292  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON, 

hearts  learn  sympathy  they  have  been  in  a  good  school,  though 
the  master  may  have  used  the  rod  most  heavily  and  taught  us  by 
many  a  smart.  To  those  who  are  teachers  of  others  this  is  of  the 
first  importance,  for  none  can  bear  with  the  infirmities  of  others 
if  they  have  not  been  made  compassionate  and  filled  with  a  fellow- 
feeling  for  the  faint  and  the  trembling.  The  keys  of  men's  hearts 
hang  up  in  the  narrow  chamber  of  suff'ering,  and  he  who  has  not  been 
there  can  scarcely  know  the  art  of  opening  the  recesses  of  the  soul. 
Instinctively  the  believing  sufferer  turns  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  because 
He  has  been  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are ;  and  in  a  lesser 
degree  he  naturally  looks  most  hopefully  to  those  of  his  brethren 
who  have  been  most  compassed  with  infirmity  and  most  familiar- 
ized with  anguish.  Happy  is  the  man  who  has  been  affiicted,  if 
the  Holy  Spirit  shall  thereby  make  him  a  son  of  consolation  to 
the  mourners  in  Zion. 

I  find  my  scarcely  recovered  mind  cannot  continue  this  medi- 
tation much  longer,  and  therefore,  omitting  a  score  of  thoughts 
which  would  naturally  suggest  themselves  to  any  devout  person, 
I  wdll  only  add  that  pain  has  a  tendency  to  make  us  grateful  when 
health  returns.  We  value  the  powers  of  locomotion  after  tossing 
long  upon  a  bed  from  which  we  cannot  rise ;  the  open  air  is  sweet 
after  the  confinement  of  the  chamber ;  food  is  relished  when  appe- 
tite returns,  and  in  all  respects  the  time  of  recovery  is  one  of 
marked  enjoyment.  As  birds  sing  most  after  their  winter's  silence, 
when  the  warm  spring  has  newly  returned,  so  should  we  be  most 
praiseful  when  our  gloomy  hours  are  changed  for  cheerful  resto- 
ration. Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  healeth  all  our  diseases  !  Jeho- 
vah Rophi  is  a  name  much  treasured  by  those  who  know  the 
Lord  that  healeth  them.  Gratitude  is  a  choice  spice  for  heaven's 
altar.  It  burns  well  in  the  censer,  and  sends  up  a  fragrant  cloud, 
acceptable  to  the  great  High  Priest.  Perhaps  God  would  have 
lost  much  praise  if  His  servant  had  not  much  suffered.  Sickness 
thus  yields  large  tribute  to  the  King's  revenue,  and  if  it  be  so  we 
may  cheerfully  endure  it.  Bow  down,  frail  body  and  faint  heart, 
if  in  the  bowing  ye  can  yield  what  ye  had  never  produced  if  ye 
had  stood  erect  in  manly  vigor !  Bruise,  Lord,  the  spice,  which 
else  had  kept  its  sweetness  slumbering  and  useless ! 


EDITORIALS.  293 

This  is  not  a  hymn,  but  yet  it  has  heaven's  poetry  within  it, 
even  this  agonizing  cry,  "  Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou 
wilt;  "  and  it  is  a  delicious  result  of  trial  if  in  this  hearty  utter- 
ance we  learn  to  imitate  our  Lord,  and  to  have  fellowship  with  His 
sufferings.  Here  a  great  ocean  opens  up  before  us :  pain  may  aid 
us  in  communion  with  our  much-suffering  Lord.  Anything  is  a 
boon  by  which  we  are  made  more  fully  to  be  partakers  with  Him. 
But  we  cannot  pursue  the  theme.  As  when  the  mariner  in  north- 
ern seas  forces  his  way  through  an  ice -blocked  strait,  and  sees 
opening  up  before  him  a  boundless  sea,  even  so  do  we  perceive 
great  truths  to  which  our  subject  leads  the  way ;  but  our  vessel  has 
so  late  been  tempest-tossed  that  we  can  enter  on  no  venturous 
voyage,  but  must  cast  anchor  under  the  shelter  of  Cape  Fellow- 
ship, and  leave  our  readers  to  push  onward  into  the  blessed 
depths.  May  the  good  Spirit  fill  their  sails,  and  bear  them  into 
the  expanse  of  holy  fellowship  ! 


FROM   AN    ADDRESS   TO   THE   STUDENTS. 

I  AM  sorry  to  say  that  I  am  made  of  such  ill  stuff  that  my  Lord 
has  to  chasten  me  often  and  sorely.  I  am  like  a  pen  that  will 
not  write  unless  it  be  often  nibbed,  and  so  I  have  felt  the  sharp 
knife  many  times ;  and  yet  I  shall  not  regret  my  pains  and  crosses 
so  long  as  my  Lord  will  write  with  me  on  men's  hearts.  That  is 
the  cause  of  many  ministers'  afflictions ;  they  are  necessary  to  our 
work.  You  have  heard  the  fable  of  the  raven  that  wished  to 
drink,  but  the  pitcher  had  so  little  water  in  it  that  he  could  not 
reach  it,  and  therefore  he  took  stone  after  stone  and  dropped  it 
into  the  vessel  until  the  water  rose  to  the  brim  and  he  could  drink. 
So  little  grace  is  in  some  men  that  they  need  many  sicknesses, 
bereavements,  and  other  afflictions  to  make  their  graces  available 
for  usefulness.  If,  however,  we  receive  grace  enough  to  bear  fruit 
without  continual  pruning,  so  much  the  better. 

It  is  expected  of  us,  brethren,  that  from  this  time  we  rise  to  a 


294  I-I1'"K   AND    LABORS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

higher  point.  It  is  the  Lord's  due,  if  we  think  of  what  He  has 
done  for  us.  Some  of  my  comrades  in  arms  now  before  me 
have  gone  through  battles  as  hard  as  any  men  may  wish  to  fight, 
and  after  such  success  they  must  never  say  die.  After  what  the 
Lord  has  done  for  us  we  must  never  strike  our  flag,  nor  turn  our 
backs  in  the  day  of  battle.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  when  it  was  feared 
that  he  would  be  wrecked  in  the  Thames,  said  :  "  What !  Have  I 
been  round  the  world,  and  am  I  now  to  be  drowned  in  a  ditch? 
Not  L"  So  say  I  to  you,  brethren :  you  have  done  business  in 
stormy  waters,  and  will  you  sink  in  a  village  pond?  We  shall  not 
be  worse  treated  than  we  have  been.  We  are  now  in  fine  fighting 
trim,  for  we  are  hardened  by  former  blows.  A  great  pugilist  at 
Rome  was  so  battered,  his  nose,  eyes,  face  were  so  disfigured,  that 
he  was  always  ready  to  fight,  because  he  said :  "  I  cannot  look 
worse  than  I  do."  Personally,  I  am  much  in  the  same  plight. 
Men  cannot  say  anything  worse  of  me  than  they  have  said.  I 
have  been  belied  from  head  to  foot,  and  misrepresented  to  the 
last  degree.  My  good  looks  are  gone,  and  none  can  much  dam- 
age me  now.  Some  of  you  have  had  more  to  batter  you  than 
you  are  likely  to  endure  again;  you  have  had  trial  and  tribu- 
lation and  affliction  as  heavy  as  you  can  have  them ;  and  after 
having  stood  in  the  lists  so  long,  surely  you  are  not  going  to  yield 
and  slink  away  like  cowards?  God  forbid  it !  God  forbid  it !  God 
grant,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  elder  ones  among  you  may  have 
the  pleasure,  not  only  of  winning  battles  for  Christ,  but  of  seeing 
others  who  have  been  saved  under  your  instrumentality  trained  to 
fight  better  than  yourselves  for  Jesus!  I  read  the  other,  day  a 
story,  and  with  that  I  will  conclude,  desiring  that  I  may  in  spirit- 
ual things  have  the  same  joy  myself,  and  that  it  may  be  the  lot 
of  you  all.  Diagoras  the  Rhodian  had  in  his  time  won  many 
wreaths  at  the  Olympian  games.  He  had  two  boys,  and  he 
brought  them  up  to  the  same  profession.  The  day  came  when 
his  own  force  abated,  and  he  was  no  longer  able  to  strive  for 
masteries  in  his  own  person;  but  he  went  up  to  the  Olympian 
games  with  his  two  sons.  He  saw  the  blows  they  gave  and 
received,  and  rejoiced  when  he  discovered  that  they  were  both 
victorious.     A  Lacedaemonian  said  to  him :    "  You  may  die  now, 


EDITORIALS.  295 

Diagoras ;  "  meaning  that  the  old  man  might  die  content,  because 
he  had  in  his  own  person  and  in  that  of  his  sons  obtained  the 
highest  honors.  The  old  man  seemed  to  feel  that  it  was  even  so ; 
for  when  his  two  sons  came  and  shouldered  their  father,  and 
carried  him  through  the  camp  amid  the  ringing  cheers  of  the  great 
assembly,  the  old  man,  flushed  with  excitement,  died  under  the 
eyes  of  the  assembled  Greeks.  It  would  have  been  a  wiser  thing 
to  have  lived,  for  he  had  a  third  son  who  became  more  renowned 
than  the  other  two  ;  but  he  passed  away  on  a  wave  of  victory. 
Oh,  brethren,  may  you  have  spiritual  children  who  shall  win  battles 
for  the  Lord,  and  may  you  live  to  see  them  doing  it;  then  may 
you  say  with  Simeon  :  "  Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart 
in  peace,  according  to  Thy  word." 


AGAINST   HASTENING   TO    REMOVE   FROM    OUR 
POST   OF   DUTY. 

He  was  a  wise  man  who  said,  "  The  roundest  peg  seldom  fits 
into  the  roundest  hole  without  some  paring."  There  is  no  posi- 
tion in  life  which,  at  the  first,  has  not  something  irksome  and 
trying  about  it.  New  comers  cannot  expect  to  feel  at  home  at 
once.  We  remember  our  first  wretched  night  at  a  school  where 
we  afterwards  became  supremely  happy.  Well  do  wc  recollect 
the  misery  of  the  first  few  months  of  a  calling  which  we  after- 
wards valued  and  enjoyed.  Our  mind  was  sorely  depressed  on 
first  coming  into  that  sphere  in  London  which  has  since  been  the 
deHght  of  our  life.  Let  no  man,  therefore,  when  he  at  first  com- 
mences work  in  any  place  feel  at  all  discouraged  by  the  uneasiness 
which  may  come  over  him.  It  is  natural  that  he  should  feel 
strange  in  a  new  position.  The  burden  is  not  yet  adapted  to  the 
shoulder,  and  the  shoulder  is  not  yet  hardened  to  the  load. 
While  feeling  the  irksomeness  of  a  fresh  position,  do  not  be  so 
foolish  as  to  throw  it  up.  Wait  a  little  while,  and  time  will  work 
wonders.  You  will  yet  take  pleasure  in  the  very  things  which  are 
now  the  source  of  discomfort.      The  very  worst  thing  will  be   to 


296  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

hasten  away  and  make  a  change,  for  the  change  will  only  bring 
trial  in  a  fresh  form,  and  you  will  endure  afresh  the  evils  which 
you  have  already  almost  mastered.  The  time  which  you  have 
already  spent  at  your  new  place  will  be  lost,  and  the  same  weary 
first  steps  will  have  to  be  taken  upon  another  ladder.  Besides, 
you  may  readily  leap  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  Change 
has  charms  to  some  men,  but  among  its  roses  they  find  abundant 
thorns. 

Has  the  minister  just  entered  upon  a  fresh  sphere,  and  does  he 
miss  the  affectionate  warmth  of  his  old  acquaintances?  Does  he 
find  his  new  people  strange  and  singular?  Do  they  appear  cold 
and  distant?  Let  him  persevere,  and  all  this  will  wear  off,  and  he 
will  come  to  love  the  very  people  to  whom  he  now  feels  an  aver- 
sion, and  find  his  best  helpers  among  those  who  now  seem  to  be 
utterly  indifferent  to  him.  The  call  of  Providence  has  brought 
him  where  he  is,  and  he  must  not  venture  to  leave  because  of 
inconveniences :  often  it  will  be  his  wisdom  to  regard  these  as  a 
part  of  the  tokens  that  he  is  in  the  right  way,  for  the  appointed 
path  is  seldom  easy  to  the  feet. 

Has  our  young  friend  commenced  teaching  a  class  in  the  Sun- 
day-school, and  does  she  find  it  far  less  pleasant  work  than  she 
imagined?  Are  the  children  wild  and  careless  and  inattentive, 
and  does  her  own  power  of  teaching  appear  to  be  smaller  than 
she  hoped?  Let  her  give  double  application  to  her  holy  toil,  and 
she  will  come  to  love  it.  Should  she  leave  it,  she  may  incur  the 
blame  of  those  who  put  their  hands  to  the  plough  and  look  back. 
The  ice  has  been  already  broken ;  the  edge  has  been  taken  off 
from  the  difficulty ;   let  her  persevere,  and  all  will  be  well. 

There  is  no  position  in  this  world  without  its  disadvantages. 
We  may  be  perpetually  on  the  move  to  our  continual  disquiet,  and 
each  move  may  bring  us  under  the  same,  or  even  greater,  disad- 
vantages. We  remember  a  Scotch  story  of  an  unlucky  family 
who  attributed  all  their  misfortunes  to  their  house  being  haunted 
by  mischievous  spirits,  known  to  our  northern  countrymen  as 
"  brownies."  These  superstitious  individuals  became  at  length 
desperate ;  nothing  prospered  in  house  or  field,  they  would  there- 
fore pack  up  all  and  begone  from  a  spot  so  mysteriously  infested. 


EDITORIALS.  297 

All  the  household  goods  were  loaded  up,  and  the  husband  and 
the  "  gude  wife "  and  the  bairns  were  all  flitting,  when  one  of 
them  cried  out:  "Brownie  is  in  the  churn.  Brownie  is  flitting 
too."  Just  so  ;  the  matters  which  hinder  a  man's  success  are  gen- 
erally in  himself,  and  will  move  with  him ;  and  wherein  it  is  not 
so,  he  may  yet  be  sure  that  if  by  change  of  place  he  avoids  one 
set  of  brownies,  he  will  find  another  awaiting  him.  There  is  bran 
in  all  meal,  and  there  are  dregs  in  all  wine.  All  roads  must  at 
times  be  rough,  and  all  seas  must  be  tossed  with  tempest.  To  fly 
from  trouble  will  need  long  wings,  and  to  escape  discomfort  will 
require  more  than  a  magician's  skill. 

It  is  wiser  to  "  bear  the  ills  we  have,  than  fly  to  others  that  we 
know  not  of."  It  is  probable  that  our  present  condition  is  the 
best  possible  for  us,  —  no  other  form  of  trial  would  be  preferable. 
What  right  have  we  to  suspect  the  wisdom  and  the  goodness  of 
God  in  placing  us  where  we  are?  It  will  be  far  more  prudent  to 
mistrust  our  own  judgment  when  it  leads  us  to  murmuring  and 
discontent.  Occasionally  it  may  be  prudent  to  remove,  or  to 
change  one's  form  of  Christian  service ;  but  this  must  be  done 
thoughtfully,  prayerfully,  and  with  a  supreme  regard  to  the  glory 
of  God,  rather  than  out  of  respect  to  our  own  feelings.  A  tree 
that  is  often  transplanted  will  make  but  little  growth  and  bear  but 
slender  fruit.  A  man  who  is  "  everything  by  turns  and  nothing 
long  "  will  be  a  sort  of  "  Jack  of  all  trades  and  master  of  none." 
An  increase  of  spiritual  strength  by  greater  communion  with  God, 
and  a  more  resolute  determination  to  glorify  Him  in  every  possible 
way,  will  usually  conquer  difficulties  and  win  success.  An  ex- 
tremely hard  substance  in  the  world  may  be  cut  by  something 
harder:  even  the  adamant  can  be  forced  to  yield.  Double  force 
will  make  that  easy  which  now  seems  impossible.  Do  not,  there- 
fore, change  the  work,  but  change  yourself.  Attempt  no  other 
alteration  till  a  distinct  improvement  in  your  own  self  has  reso- 
lutely been  carried  out. 

We  speak  thus  because  we  believe  that  many  are  discouraged 
at  the  outset  of  a  career  which,  if  they  could  see  its  end,  would 
fill  them  with  thankfulness ;  and  Satan  raises  these  discourage- 
ments to  tempt  them  to  leave  a  position  in  which  they  may  dam- 


298  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

age  his  kingdom  and  glorify  Christ.  Courage,  dear  friend,  you 
have  a  great  Helper;  look  to  the  Strong  for  strength.  Say  with 
Nehemiah,  "  Should  such  a  man  as  I  flee?  "  Who  are  you  that 
everything  should  be  made  smooth  for  your  feet?  Are  you  such 
a  little  babe  in  grace  that  only  the  slightest  tasks  should  be  allotted 
to  you  ?  Be  a  man,  and  play  the  man.  Resolve  that  even  at  this 
present,  and  where  you  now  are,  you  will  set  up  the  standard  and 
hold  the  fort.  Many  are  the  instances  in  which  men  have  com- 
menced their  life-work  under  every  possible  disadvantage,  and  for 
months,  and  even  years,  they  have  seemed  to  make  no  headway 
whatsoever,  and  yet  they  have  ultimately  triumphed,  and  have 
come  to  bless  the  providence  which  called  them  into  a  place  so 
well  adapted  for  their  gifts.  It  would  have  been  their  worst  calam- 
ity if,  under  a  fit  of  despondency,  they  had  changed  their  station 
or  relinquished  their  vocation.  The  Church  would  have  been  the 
poorer,  the  world  would  have  been  the  darker,  and  themselves  the 
feebler  if  they  had  shifted  at  the  first  even  to  the  most  promising 
spheres  which  tempted  them.  That  rock  on  which  they  stood, 
and  mourned  the  hardness  of  the  soil,  was  more  full  of  the  ele- 
ments of  fruitfulness  than  the  softer  soil  at  a  little  distance  which 
invited  them  to  leave.  Tarrying  where  they  were,  exercising  in- 
domitable perseverance,  they  have  softened  the  granite,  cultured 
it  into  fertility,  and  reaped  a  golden  harvest.  He  is  the  greatest 
man  who  achieves  success  where  stronger  men  might  have  failed. 
If  we  desire  to  glorify  God  we  must  not  select  the  comfortable 
positions  and  the  hopeful  fields ;  it  is  best  to  make  no  selection, 
but  to  yield  our  own  will  to  the  will  of  God  altogether.  The  hole 
is  round  enough  ;  it  will  be  difficult  to  make  it  any  rounder.  The 
proper  plan  is  to  round  ourselves.  If  we  will  but  adapt  ourselves 
to  our  position  the  position  will  adapt  itself  to  us. 

It  may  be  that  these  lines  will  furnish  counsel  to  a  brother  whose 
choice  now  lies  between  being  a  rolling  stone  and  a  pillar  in  the 
house  of  our  God.  To  turn  tail  under  present  pressure  may  be 
the  beginning  of  a  cowardly  career,  neither  honorable  to  God 
nor  to  man:  to  stand  fast  at  this  distressing  juncture  may  be  the 
commencement  of  an  established  position  of  supreme  usefulness 
and   honor. 


XXIII. 
CONTRIBUTED    ARTICLES. 


I  PASSED  under  a  camphor- tree  and  gathered  a  few  of  its  leaves  and  found 
them  full  of  camphor ;  indeed,  the  whole  of  the  tree  was  saturated  with  it.  Thus 
should  the  grace  of  God  show  itself  in  the  whole  life  of  the  believer.  As  the 
inevitable  outflow  of  his  renewed  nature  his  most  commonplace  acts  and  words 
should  be  gracious.  Little  things  best  reveal  character,  for  in  them  a  man  is 
less  upon  his  guard,  f^et  even  the  leaves  of  your  words  partake  of  the  grace 
which  dwells  in  you.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


CONTRIBUTED    ARTICLES. 


VISITING  THE   POOR. 

JOSEPH  COOK  says :  "  In  every  great  town  there  are  six  or 
ten  strata  of  society ;  and  it  is,  one  would  think,  a  hundred 
miles  from  the  fashionable  to  the  unfashionable  side  of  a  sinsfle 
brick  in  a  wall.  Superfluity  and  squalor  know  absolutely  nothing 
of  each  other,  such  is  the  utter  negligence  of  the  duty  of  visiting 
the  poor  in  any  other  way  than  by  agents.  I  do  not  undervalue 
these,  nor  any  part  of  the  great  charities  of  our  times ;  but  there 
is  no  complete  theory  for  the  permanent  relief  of  the  poor  without 
personal  visitation.  Go  from  street  to  street  with  the  city  mis- 
sionary or  the  best  of  the  police ;  but  sometimes  go  all  alone,  and 
with  your  own  eyes  see  the  poor  in  their  attics,  and  study  the 
absolutely  unspeakable  conditions  of  their  daily  lives.  Live  one 
day  where  the  children  of  the  perishing  poor  live,  and  ask  what 
it  is  to  live  there  always.  I  know  a  scholar  of  heroic  temper  and 
of  exquisite  culture  who  recently  resolved  to  live  with  the  poor 
in  a  stifling  part  of  this  city  (Boston),  and  who,  after  repeated 
and  desperate  illness,  was  obliged  to  move  his  home  off  the 
ground  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  putting  his  body  under- 
ground. You  cannot  understand  the  poor  by  newspapers,  nor 
even  by  novels." 

Rather  a  sly  poke,  Mr.  Cook,  at  those  who  fancy  they  can  sec 
mankind  through  the  spectacles  of  novels.  The  world  which  is 
depicted  in  fiction  is  strangely  different  from  the  realm  of  fact  in 
which  men  and  women  starve  and  die,  or  end  their  days  in  the 


302  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

workhouse,  of  which  they  have  felt  from  their  childhood  a  mortal 
dread.  Novel-readers  know  a  great  deal  which  it  will  cost  them 
vast  pains  to  unlearn.  True  knowledge  of  the  poor  will  not  come 
even  out  of  "Jessica's  First  Prayer"  and  the  like;  it  must  grow 
out  of  actual  contact  with  them. 

There  is  much  truth  in  what  Mr.  Cook  has  said ;  indeed,  a  great 
deal  more  than  at  first  meets  the  eye.  Wealthy  Christians  are  to 
be  educated  in  the  most  Christ-like  of  graces  by  coming  in  con- 
tact with  the  poor,  and  it  is  a  great  pity  that  they  should  refuse 
to  enter  the  appointed  school ;  poor  saints  are  to  be  consoled  and 
cheered  by  the  presence  of  their  richer  brethren,  and  it  is  cruel 
for  the  ordained  comforters  to  refuse  their  task.  More  would  be 
given  in  charity  if  it  were  given  personally,  and  it  would  be  more 
wisely  distributed  and  more  gratefully  received.  The  kindly  word 
and  sympathetic  look  would  be  worth  more  than  the  silver  or  even 
the  gold  expended  upon  the  needy,  and  would  often  prevent  the 
recipient  from  becoming  a  pauper,  or  rouse  the  pauper  to  a  desire 
for  independence.  Personal  visitation  is  good  all  round  ;  like 
mercy,  it  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes. 

Our  churches  have  visiting  societies  connected  with  them,  but 
we  fear  they  are  not  quite  so  flourishing  as  they  ought  to  be.  A 
few  ladies  manage  the  whole  business  and  do  all  the  work.  We 
MHsh  that  all  the  members  of  the  churches  who  have  anything  to 
spare  would  become  visitors  of  the  sick  and  the  poor,  either  in 
connection  with  the  societies  or  on  their  own  account.  Of  course, 
those  whose  time  belongs  to  their  employers,  and  those  whose 
home  duties  occupy  every  minute  are  to  be  excused  ;  but  we  have 
hundreds  of  ladies  without  occupation  who  ought  to  spend  their 
time  in  being  true  sisters  of  mercy.  And  why  not  the  gentlemen 
too?  Men  of  leisure  could  not  do  better  than  hunt  out  needy 
merit  in  the  back  slums.  It  would  afford  more  excitement  and 
pleasure  than  shooting  over  the  moors  or  watching  the  fly  on 
the  rivers.  Gentlemen  could  safely  pioneer  the  way  for  ladies, 
and  there  are  rooms  which  they  might  enter  more  safely  than  the 
gentler  sex.  When  we  speak  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  we  mean 
men  and  women  of  gentle  hearts  and  generous  hands,  who  would 
go   really  to   pity  and   help   the   poor;    we   mean  working  men's 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  303 

wives  who  would  sit  up  at  night  with  a  sick  neighbor,  and  artisans 
themselves  who  would  not  mind  whitewashing  a  sick  man's  room, 
if  needed,  to  make  it  sweet  and  healthy.  Anyhow,  the  salt  wants 
to  be  rubbed  in,  and  not  to  be  kept  by  itself  in  the  salt-box. 
There  is  the  city  with  its  sorrows,  and  here  is  the  Church  with 
its  heaven-born  love ;  the  question  is :  How  shall  these  be  brought 
into  contact,  so  that  the  evil  shall  find  its  remedy  and  the  medicine 
shall  reach  the  disease? 

It  is  of  no  use  waiting  till  one  universal  Charity  Organization 
scheme  shall  be  carried  out ;  we  might  as  well  tarry  till  an  organ- 
ized providence  drops  quartern  loaves  and  pats  of  butter  at  every 
householder's  door.  Schemes  and  plans  are  all  very  well,  but 
he  who  waits  till  a  scheme  has  put  a  chicken  into  his  pot  will  go 
without  a  pullet  for  a  lifetime.  The  better  way  is  for  those  who 
visit  to  go  on  with  their  work,  and  for  those  who  do  not  visit  to 
begin  at  once,  and  make  one  call  a  day  if  possible.  Just  take  a 
walk  down  Paradise  Place  as  a  commencement.  Look  up  Jinks's 
Rents  and  down  Sheridan's  Alley,  and  pick  up  an  acquaintance  with 
the  woman  who  goes  out  charing  when  she  can  get  it,  and  the  widow 
who  has  four  children,  one  born  since  the  husband's  death,  —  the 
consumptive  widow,  we  mean,  who  cannot  earn  a  penny  for  her- 
self because  three  of  the  little  ones  need  nursing,  and  the  eldest 
can  barely  run  alone.  To  give  up  an  evening  party  in  order  to 
make  a  call  in  the  slums  may  seem  to  be  insane  advice,  but  we 
venture  to  back  it  up  by  the  assertion  that  it  would  afford  more 
sensible  entertainment  than  the  most  of  the  stuck-up  assemblies 
where  twaddle  and  ceremony  sicken  thoughtful  minds.  Life  is 
never  slow  to  those  who  live  to  do  good.  True  romance  comes 
in  the  way  of  those  whose  hearts  love  the  sorrowful.  Nobody 
ever  complains  of  ennui  who  spends  his  strength  in  relieving 
human  need  for  Jesus'  sake.  Gratitude  for  our  own  favored  lot 
is  excited  by  the  inspection  of  a  hospital,  a  workhouse,  or  the 
squalid  dens  where  poverty  herds  with  vice. 

Society  wants  to  be  made  into  a  stir-about.  We  must  mingle 
for  mutual  advantage.  The  walls  are  getting  higher  and  the 
ditches  deeper;  let  us  each  one  try  to  scale  the  ramparts  and 
bridge    the    moats.     We    are    one    family,    and   we    refuse   to    be 


304  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OP^   C.    II.    SPURGEON. 

divided.  We  cannot  be  content  to  be  pampered  while  our  breth- 
ren pine  in  want.  Down  with  the  barriers,  and  let  the  rich  and 
poor  meet  together,  for  the  Lord  is  the  Maker  of  them  all. 


"A   CONTINUAL   TOOTH-DRAWING." 

When  Sir  Thomas  Fowell  Buxton  was  wearied  all  day  long  by 
incessant  requests  to  alter  his  procedure  upon  a  great  political 
question,  he  told  his  daughter  that  he  could  compare  the  impor- 
tunities of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  nothing  but 
a  continual  tooth-drawing.  This  is  an  image  far  too  striking  to  be 
left  to  Sir  Lowell's  sole  use.  Many  other  persons  have  been  made 
to  know  what  a  continual  tooth-drawing  means,  and  we  feel  per- 
suaded that  many  more  are  subjected  to  similar  processes. 

We  should  think  that  a  miserly  man,  who  takes  a  sitting  in  a 
place  of  worship  frequented  by  a  liberal  and  energetic  people, 
must  frequently  feel,  when  he  is  asked  over  and  over  again  for  a 
subscription,  that  he  had  almost  as  soon  sit  in  a  dentist's  chair,  and 
feel  the  operator's  forceps  upon  his  precious  dentals.  His  best 
plan  is  to  give  at  once,  and  so  end  the  pain  of  the  extraction. 

The  same  sort  of  misery  must  be  experienced  by  the  Christian 
who  is  always  sighing  — 

"'Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know," 

and  incessantly  turning  over  the  experience  of  his  own  heart  to 
see  if  he  can  extract  from  it  some  assuring  evidence  of  his  being 
in  Christ.  Most  of  us  have  undergone  this  unhappy  experience, 
and  even  a  moment  of  it  is  torture :  to  have  to  endure  it  month 
after  month  would  be  agony  indeed.  Oh,  for  a  childlike  faith  in 
Jesus  to  decide  the  question  at  once  ! 

Personally,  we  have  heard  utterances  in  prayer-meetings  which 
were  painfully  like  a  continual  tooth-drawing.  They  were  hard, 
cold,  heartless,  dreary,  and  both  as  long  and  as  dismal  as  a  winter's 
night.  AH  of  a  sudden  we  thought  and  hoped  that  the  brother 
had  done;  but,  alas,  he  took  up  a  fresh  lease,  and  entered  upon 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  305 

another  lengthened  period !  To  all  appearance  he  was  coming 
to  a  conclusion  a  second  time,  when  off  he  went,  like  a  shot 
which  ricochets,  or  a  boy's  stone  which  when  thrown  into  the 
water  goes  —  duck  —  duck  —  drake  —  upon  the  surface.  The 
prayer  was  diluted  to  the  dregs  of  nothing,  but  end  there 
seemed  to  be  none.  Oh,  that  the  tooth  were  out!  The  beloved 
brother  had  said  all  that  could  be  said,  and  prayed  for  all  that 
could  be  prayed  for ;  but  he  evidently  felt  it  necessary  to  begin 
again.  We  can  have  too  much  of  a  good  thing  in  such  a  case, 
and  we  wish  the  friend  thought  so. 

Preachers,  too,  have  caused  us  the  same  memorable  sensation. 
The  style  and  manner  have  been  painful,  and  the  length  of  the 
discourse  has  made  the  agony  a  protracted  one.  Dragging  away 
at  some  metaphysical  subtlety,  which  they  could  not  bring  into 
the  light;  tugging  at  some  unimportant  difficulty  whose  fangs 
defied  their  power;  or  explaining  with  marvellous  perspicuity 
what  was  clear  as  daylight  when  they  began,  and  marvellously 
foggy  before  they  came  to  the  end,  they  have  inflicted  upon  us 
"a  continual  tooth-drawing;"  at  least,  our  patience  was  almost 
as  much  strained  as  if  a  grinder  had  been  slowly  drawn  from 
our  aching  jaw.  We  are  ready  to  cry,  "  Out  with  it,  and  have 
done,  there  's  a  good  man  ;   for  we  can't  stand  it  much  longer." 

Worst  of  all,  however,  and  fullest  development  of  Sir  Fowell's 
simile,  is  the  click,  clack,  click,  clack  of  a  fluent  female  who  has 
gained  your  ear,  and  means  to  hold  it. 

"  She  never  tires  nor  stops  to  rest, 
But  on  and  on  she  goes." 

We  have  felt  ready  to  open  our  mouth,  and  let  her  draw  all  our 
teeth  seriatim,  if  she  would  but  leave  off  talking.  She  had  noth- 
ing to  say,  and  she  said  that  nothing  at  extreme  length,  with 
marvellous  energy  and  with  unwearied  repetition.  We  have 
turned  our  head,  we  have  shut  our  eyes,  we  have  wished  we 
had  gun-cotton  in  our  ears  and  dynamite  in  our  brain;  but 
our  wishes  did  not  deliver  us,  we  were  given  over  to  the  tor- 
menter,  and  must  abide  the  fulfilment  of  our  sentence.  When 
the  operation  has  been  over  we  have  sometimes  asked  our- 
selves what  we    have  done  to  deserve   such   a   punishment,   and 


306  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C,    IL    SPUROEON. 

with  every  desire  to  make  a  full  confession  of  our  faults,  we  have 
not  been  able  to  discover  anything  which  deserved  so  severe  a 
torment  under  the  present  rule  of  mercy.  At  the  second  sight 
of  the  operator  we  have  fled,  feeling  that  it  would  be  worth 
while  to  go  a  mile  round,  or  leap  over  hedge  and  ditch,  rather 
than  again  experience  "  a  continual  tooth-drawing." 

Moral.  —  Let  us  all  be  considerate  of  the  feelings  of  others, 
for  when  we  imagine  we  are  merely  tickling  their  ears,  w-e  may 
be  causing  them  as  much  pain  as  if  we  were  drawing  their  teeth. 


DOCTRINAL   ERROR. 

When  the  heart  has  got  out  of  order  and  the  spiritual  life 
has  run  down,  men  soon  fall  into  actual  doctrinal  error,  not  so 
much  because  their  head  is  wrong,  for  many  of  them  have  not 
much  of  that,  but  because  their  heart  is  in  an  ill  condition.  We 
should  never  have  known  that  some  men  had  brains  at  all  if 
they  had  not  addled  them.  Such  departers  from  the  faith  usually 
fall  by  little  and  little.  They  begin  by  saying  very  little  concern- 
ing grace.  They  serve  out  homoeopathic  doses  of  gospel :  it  is 
marvellous  what  a  very  small  globule  of  the  gospel  will  save  a 
soul,  and  it  is  a  great  mercy  that  it  is  so,  or  few  would  be  saved. 
These  snatches  of  gospel,  and  the  preacher  who  gives  them, 
remind  us  of  the  famous  dog  of  Nile,  of  whom  the  ancients  said 
that  he  was  so  afraid  of  the  crocodiles  that  he  drank  of  the  river 
in  a  great  hurry,  and  was  away  from  it  directly.  These  intellec- 
tual gentry  are  so  afraid  of  the  critical  crocodiles  that  the  moment 
they  touch  the  living  water  of  the  gospel  they  are  away  again. 
Their  doubts  are  stronger  than  their  beliefs.  The  worst  of  it  is 
that  they  not  only  give  us  very  little  gospel,  but  they  give  us 
much  that  is  not  the  gospel.  In  this  they  are  like  mosquitoes, 
of  whom  I  have  often  said,  I  do  not  mind  their  taking  a  little 
of  my  blood,  but  it  is  the  poison  which  they  put  into  me  which 
is  my  great  cause  of  quarrel.     That  a  man  should  rob  me  of  the 


CONTRIBUTED  ARTICLES.  307 

gospel  is  bad  enough ;   but  that  he  should  impregnate  me  with  his 
poisonous  doctrine  is  intolerable. 

When  men  lose  all  love  to  the  gospel  they  try  to  make  up  for 
the  loss  of  its  attractions  by  sparkling  inventions  of  their  own. 
They  imitate  life  by  the  artificial  flash  of  culture,  reminding  me 
of  the  saline  crystals  which  cover  the  salt  deserts.  There  is  a 
lifeless  plain  in  the  heart  of  Persia,  so  sterile  and  accursed  that 
even  saline  plants  do  not  thrive ;  "  but  the  salt  itself,  as  if  in 
bitter  mockery,  fashions  its  crystals  in  the  form  of  stems  and 
stalks,  and  covers  the  steppe  with  a  carpet  of  unique  vegetation, 
glittering  and  glistening  like  an  enchanted  prairie  in  the  daz- 
zling light  of  the  eastern  sun."  Woe  be  unto  the  poor  congre- 
gations who  behold  this  substitute  for  life,  this  saline  efflorescence 
of  dainty  errors  and  fascinating  inventions  !  Alas,  whatever  a  man 
may  now  propound  he  will  find  learned  personages  to  support 
him  in  it !  Fontenelle  used  to  say,  that  if  he  could  only  get  six 
philosophers  to  write  in  its  favor,  people  could  be  made  to  believe 
that  the  sun  is  not  the  source  of  light  and  heat:  and  I  think 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  the  remark.  We  are  told,  "  Well, 
he  is  a  very  learned  man,  he  is  a  Fellow  of  Brazenface  College, 
and  he  has  written  a  book  in  which  he  upsets  the  old  dogmas." 
If  a  learned  man  writes  any  nonsense,  of  course  it  will  have  a 
run,  and  there  is  no  opinion  so  insane  but,  if  it  has  the  patron- 
age of  so-called  scientific  men,  it  will  be  believed  in  certain 
quarters.  I  have  myself  watched  the  labors  of  novelists  in  the- 
ology, and  have  tried  to  get  what  I  could  out  of  their  books, 
but  I  have  been  struck  with  the  remarkably  poor  results  of  their 
lucubrations. 


ON   GEORGE   MULLER. 

A  Christian  man  is  the  noblest  work  of  God,  especially  a 
Christian  man  who  has  attained  to  fulness  of  stature,  and  has  done 
eminent  service  for  his  Master.  As  in  the  presence  of  sublime 
scenery  the  renewed  heart  adores  the  Creator,  and  never  dreams 


308  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

of  worshipping  nature  itself,  so  in  communion  with  a  truly  conse- 
crated man  the  spiritual  mind  rises  to  a  reverent  acknowledgment 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  workmanship  is  seen  in  all  the  saints, 
and  the  idea  of  hero-worship  is  banished  from  the  mind.  Within 
the  last  few  days  it  has  been  our  joyful  privilege  to  meet  with 
several  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth.  .  .  . 

It  has  been  a  great  means  of  grace  to  us  in  our  exile  not  only 
to  hear  the  venerable  George  M tiller  of  Bristol,  but  to  have  three 
long  interviews  with  him,  besides  uniting  with  him  twice  in  the 
breaking  of  bread  and  in  prayer.  Mr.  Miiller  has  the  look  of 
personified  order  and  simplicity;  his  appearance  is  equally  re- 
moved from  show  and  slovenliness.  His  face  gleams  with  the 
quiet  cheerfulness  which  comes  of  profound  restfulness.  He 
believes  God  with  great  reality,  and  practically  takes  Him  at  His 
word,  and  hence  his  peace  is  as  a  river.  His  faith  has  wrought  in 
him  great  strength  of  purpose,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  and 
something  more  than  submission  to  the  will  of  the  Lord,  for  he 
evidently  delights  himself  therein,  and,  through  divine  grace,  has 
been  made  to  move  in  accordance  with  it.  That  which  struck 
us  most  was  his  evident  rejoicing  in  tribulations,  for  the  only 
excitement  which  we  noticed  in  him  was  at  the  mention  of  the 
trials  of  his  early  days,  which  gave  such  room  for  the  display  of 
the  divine  faithfulness.  We  do  not  mean  that  our  friend  desires 
trial,  but  we  perceive  that  when  it  comes  his  heart  is  exceeding 
glad,  and  his  glory  rejoices,  because  the  Lord  is  now  about  to 
reveal  Himself  more  fully,  and  to  honor  His  divine  name  yet  again. 
Oh,  that  we  could  all  learn  this  lesson  and  put  it  into  practice ! 

Mr.  Miiller  gives  us  more  the  idea  of  Enoch  than  any  man  we 
have  ever  met:  he  habitually  walks  with  God.  Hence  his  whole 
life  is  his  religion,  and  his  religion  is  his  whole  life.  The  delight- 
ful placidity  of  the  pulpit  is  retained  in  the  parlor,  and  the  gra- 
ciousness  which  is  seen  in  the  preacher  is  just  as  manifest  in  the 
friend.  Some  may,  therefore,  suppose  that  he  has  about  him  a 
sombre  air ;  far  from  it.  He  is  as  bright  and  happy  as  a  dear, 
obedient  child  has  a  right  to  be  when  enjoying  his  Father's  love. 
He  is  no  monk,  and  could  not  be  made  into  a  gloomy  recluse  ; 
the  domestic  affections  are  strong  within  him,  and  so  also  is  his 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  309 

love  to  the  brethren,  and  his  desire  for  the  good  of  all  mankind. 
Nothing  cold,  austere,  or  hard  has  any  place  with  this  "  man 
greatly  beloved."  In  our  company  he  displayed  to  us  a  special 
affection,  which  we  heartily  reciprocate.  We  entertain  for  him  a 
feeling  of  profound  veneration  ;  but  in  his  intercourse  with  us  his 
humility  scarcely  allowed  him  to  perceive  the  fact,  and  there  was 
an  entire  absence  of  anything  like  a  sense  of  superiority,  even  of 
such  as  greater  age  and  experience  might  naturally  claim.  Our 
communion  was  very  sweet  to  the  younger  of  the  two ;  may  the 
Lord  grant  to  him  a  renewal  of  it.  We  were  deeply  humbled  at 
the  sight  of  our  friend's  beauty  of  character ;  not  that  he  said  a 
single  word  by  way  of  self-praise,  but  the  very  reverse,  for  his 
total  absence  of  self-consciousness  was  a  leading  feature  in  his 
conversation.  Again  and  again  he  said :  "  The  Lord  can  do 
without  poor  George  MuUer ;  "  but  even  this  was  drawn  out  of 
him,  for  with  him  George  Miiller  is  just  nothing,  and  the  Lord  is 
all  in  all.  We  cannot  picture  this  man  of  God,  he  is  too  bright 
for  our  pencil.  A  soft,  subdued  light  shines  upon  his  image  as 
we  try  to  recall  it,  a  reflection  of  the  moral  glory  of  the  Master 
whom  he  loves ;  but  mild  as  is  the  radiance,  it  prevents  our 
sketching  the  man  to  the  life. 

With  no  flash  of  oratory,  or  brilliance  of  poetry,  or  breadth  of 
thought,  or  originality  of  mind,  George  Miiller  is  enabled  to  be 
one  of  the  most  useful  of  living  preachers  by  his  simply  testifying 
to  facts  by  which  he  has  for  himself  proved  the  love  and  truth  of 
God.  His  preaching  is  the  gospel,  and  nothing  else.  Of  flowers 
of  speech  he  has  none,  and  we  hardly  think  he  cares  for  them ; 
but  of  the  bread  of  heaven  he  has  abundance.  With  speculations 
he  does  not  intermeddle,  but  the  eternal  verities  he  handles  with 
practical,  homely,  realizing  faith 

No  doubts  disturb  the  Director  of  the  Ashley  Down  Orphanage  ; 
how  can  there  be  when  he  sees  the  Lord  daily  feeding  his  2,050 
orphan  children  in  answer  to  his  prayers?  Modern  thought  and 
the  higher  criticism  never  trouble  this  happy  man.  He  soars 
aloft.  While  earth-bound  souls  are  distracted  and  tormented  by 
the  discordant  voices  of  error,  he  hears  the  voice  of  the  great 
Father  in  heaven,  and  is  deaf  to  all  besides.     In  his  old   age,  still 


3IO  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

hale  and  strong,  he  ministers  the  Word  with  ceaseless  diligence, 
journeying  from  place  to  place  as  the  Lord  opens  the  doors  and 
prepares  his  way.  Free  from  all  anxiety,  he  enjoys  life  to  the 
utmost,  and  if  it  were  right  to  envy  any  man  we  should  certainly 
envy  George  Muller;  we  are  not,  however,  under  any  necessity 
of  so  doing,  for  the  same  grace  worketh  in  all  the  saints,  and  we 
have  but  to  yield  ourselves  thereto. 


PASTORLESS    FLOCKS. 

Our  excellent  contemporary,  "  The  Watchman,"  of  Boston, 
United  States,  has  an  article  upon  American  churches  and  their 
difficulties  in  finding  pastors  which  is  singularly  applicable  to 
the  condition  of  things  in  England.  We  quote  the  whole  para- 
graph :  — 

"  It  is  sad  tc^  see  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  as  sad  to  see  a 
church  without  a  pastor.  At  the  present  time  a  number  of  our 
most  able  churches  are  in  a  pastorless  condition.  The  First 
Church  in  Cleveland  has  no  successor  to  Dr.  Gardner.  Emanuel 
Church  in  Albany  has  not  filled  the  place  of  Dr.  Bridgman.  The 
First  Church  in  Chicago  comes  into  the  number  of  the  pastorless. 
The  old  First  Church  in  New  York,  for  the  first  time  in  many 
years,  has  a  vacant  pulpit.  Warren  Avenue  Church  in  Boston  still 
waits.  The  Tabernacle  Church,  Albany,  parts  with  Rev.  Frank 
Morse,  and  puts  up  the  sign,  'Pulpit  to  let.'  The  Fourth  Church 
in  Philadelphia  mourns  the  withdrawal  of  its  favorite.  Other  great 
churches  are  without  pastors.  The  question  arises  :  '  What  is  the 
matter?'  We  ask  not  why  the  pastors  left,  for  in  most  cases  the 
reason  is  obvious.  But  why  is  not  the  pulpit  filled?  Why  should 
Emanuel  Church  and  the  Cleveland  Church  be  so  many  months  in 
securing  a  new  minister?  There  seems  to  be  a  false  taste  prevail- 
ing in  our  churches  which  prevents  any  speedy  settlement  of  a 
pastor  when  a  vacancy  occurs.  The  habit  is  to  send  all  about  the 
country  to  find  some  wonderful  man  to  do  some  wonderful  work. 


CONTRIBUTED  ARTICLES.  31I 

When  a  '  supply  committee '  is  chosen,  they  look  over  the  field, 
and  get  their  eyes  upon  some  brilliant  man  who  is  supposed  to 
stand  at  the  head  of  the  list.  They  have  the  most  important  field 
in  the  country,  and  feel  sure  the  genius  \Yill  come.  They  call, 
and  the  call  is  declined.  Then  the  committee  strike  a  notch 
lower.  Now  they  are  sure,  but  the  elect  says,  '  No.'  Then  they 
try  again,  a  notch  •  lower,  with  the  same  result.  By  this  time  the 
committee  has  learned  something.  The  church  is  taught  humility, 
and  a  call  is  given  to  some  fair  man,  who  accepts,  and  the  ma- 
chinery gets  in  motion  again.  What  is  to  become  of  these  great 
pastorless  churches?  They  are  too  big  for  our  theological  institu- 
tions to  fill.  They  are  too  important  for  an  ordinary  race  of 
ministers.  They  find  nobody  in  the  country  equal  to  their  neces- 
sities. What  is  to  be  done?  We  might  import  Spurgeon,  but  he 
refuses  to  be  imported.  We  might  call  Hugh  Stowell  Brown,  but 
he  will  not  come.  Certain  it  is  that  churches  must  be  more 
moderate  in  their  wants,  or  we  must  have  a  new  race  of  ministers 
raised  up  by  some  special  providence.  As  it  is,  we  have  too 
many  big  churches,  or  too  many  little  men.  The  churches  are 
often  made  big  by  fictitious  means.  They  become  swollen  by 
self-laudation.  Is  there  no  way  to  swell  the  ministers?  We  know 
of  a  lot  of  men  good  enough  for  the  best  of  the  vacant  churches 
if  they  could  only  be  swollen  a  little.  An  institution  to  inflate 
ministers  so  that  they  would  fill  vacant  pulpits  is  a  desideratum  in 
our  times,  when  so  many  churches  find  it  so  hard  to  obtain  the 
men  they  want." 

Mr.  Watchman  is  wickedly  poking  fun  when  he  talks  about 
inflating  ministers.  No  preacher  would  be  improved  by  being 
"  swollen,"  and  we  are  quite  sure  that  "  The  Watchman  "  would  be 
the  very  first  to  object  to  the  process.  The  remedy  lies  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Churches  need  to  be  brought  down  from 
their  exalted  notions  of  themselves,  and  their  self-laudation  must 
come  to  an  end ;  or  else  the  old  proverb  will  find  illustration  in 
unexpected  quarters,  —  "  Pride  goeth  before  destruction."  When 
Christian  men  grow  dainty  and  quarrel  with  the  bread  of  life 
because  it  is  not  baked  in  silver  tins  they  are  evidently  in  a  sickly 
condition,   and    are    in   need   of  something   else   besides    an    able 


312  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF    C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

preacher.  When  they  are  strong  and  vigorous  they  can  feed  on 
good,  wholesome  spiritual  meat,  served  up  without  the  condiments 
of  genius  and  sensationalism  :  let  them  judge  themselves,  and  see 
whether  this  strength  does  not  still  abide  with  them,  and  if  so,  let 
them  shake  off  their  whimsies,  and  sit  down  to  homely  fare  like 
their  brethren. 

We  know  at  the  present  moment  churches  which  are  worthy  of 
all  honor  from  their  past  history,  their  position,  and  their  liberality 
to  the  cause  of  God,  —  churches  which  it  would  be  an  honor  to 
any  man  to  preside  over,  for  they  are  composed  of  intelligent, 
thoughtful  Christian  men ;  and  these  churches  cannot  find  a  min- 
ister in  all  her  Majesty's  three  kingdoms.  It  would  be  an  injustice 
to  charge  any  one  of  the  members  of  those  churches  with  self- 
conceit,  for  personally  and  privately  they  are  each  one  sober- 
minded  and  lowly;  but  there  is  a  certain  something  called  "the 
church  and  its  status,"  of  which  they  are  very  proud,  and  when 
they  meet  together  in  their  corporate  capacity  this  "  church  and 
status  "  is  paramount  in  their  thoughts,  and  they  are  as  puffed  up 
about  it  as  they  well  can  be.  "  We  must  have  a  man  of  the  first 
order.  It  matters  not  how  long  we  wait,  nor  where  we  look,  nor 
what  we  give ;  our  church  is  of  such  a  character  and  occupies 
such  a  position  that  only  a  first-class  preacher  can  be  thought  of." 
Filled  with  this  idea,  these  brethren  have  heard  some  of  the  excel- 
lent of  the  earth,  and  have  enjoyed  their  ministry;  but  they  have 
conscientiously  denied  themselves  the  privilege  of  inviting  them 
to  the  pastorate,  because  they  have  felt  that  these  admirable 
brethren  were  lacking  in  classical  attainments  or  in  brilliant  ora- 
tory. For  themselves,  and  for  their  children,  the  esteemed  minis- 
ters whom  they  have  heard  were  all  they  could  desire ;  but  there 
were  learned  men  outside,  or  men  supposed  to  be  learned,  persons 
of  influence,  or  persons  thought  to  be  influential,  hovering  round 
the  church  doors,  and  for  the  sake  of  these  the  sound,  edifying 
divine  must  be  put  on  one  side  while  they  looked  for  a  brother 
who  would  be  abreast  of  the  times,  and  would  meet  the  philo- 
sophical turn  of  thought  so  current  among  "  our  more  thoughtful 
young  men."  We  confess  to  a  smile  as  we  write  the  last  five 
words ;   for  we  have  heard  of  these  gentlemen  so  often  that  we 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  313 

have  the  same  awe  of  them  as  of  "  the  Conservative  working 
man."  These  churches  have  several  times  hit  upon  the  right  men, 
as  they  thought,  and  have  endeavored  to  entice  them  away  from 
the  congregations  over  which  they  were  settled,  but  their  invita- 
tions have  been  respectfully  declined.  They  are  still  looking  out, 
and  probably  will  be  looking  out  for  anything  under  the  next 
quarter  of  a  century,  unless  they  can  modify  and  moderate  their 
notions  of  what  they  ought  to  find  in  a  minister. 

Besides  the  risks  which  they  run  by  remaining  so  long  pastor- 
less,  risks  by  no  means  to  be  underrated,  there  is  one  which  they 
forget,  namely,  that  when  they  do  make  their  choice  they  will 
probably  select  a  man  far  less  worthy  of  their  election  than  several 
whom  they  have  passed  over.  The  old  story  of  the  boy  in  the 
wood  who  needed  a  stick,  but  felt  that  with  so  many  around  him 
he  should  be  sure  to  meet  with  a  better  one  by  and  by,  has  been 
repeated  hundreds  of  times.  That  worthy,  as  we  all  know,  came 
at  last  to  the  end  of  the  copse,  and  was  obliged  to  cut  any  one 
he  could  find,  having  passed  by  scores  of  better  ones  earlier  in 
the  day. 

One  of  the  best  things  that  a  church  can  do  is  to  catch  a  min- 
ister young,  and  train  him  for  themselves.  Some  of  the  happiest 
and  longest  pastorates  in  our  denomination  commenced  with  the 
invitation  of  a  young  man  from  the  country  to  a  post  for  which 
he  was  barely  qualified.  His  mistakes  were  borne  with,  his  efforts 
were  encouraged,  and  he  grew,  and  the  church  grew  with  him. 
His  pastorate  continued  for  many  a  year,  since  he  was  under  no 
temptation  to  leave  for  another  position,  because  he  felt  at  home, 
and  could  say,  like  one  of  old,  "  I  dwell  among  mine  own  people." 
If  our  large  churches  will  not  try  young  men,  but  must  all  be 
provided  with  tried,  experienced,  eminent  pastors,  there  will 
probably  be  many  vacant  pulpits,  and  a  great  many  reasons  for 
their  being  vacant  will  be  stated  by  letter-writers  in  the  religious 
newspapers, — reasons  all  more  or  less  amusing  because  they  show 
how  men  can  spin  theories,  as  spiders  spin  webs,  out  of  their  own 
interiors,  making  a  little  substance  go  a  very  long  way.  God  has 
promised  to  send  the  churches  pastors  according  to  His  own 
heart,  but  not  according  to  the  hearts  of  those  who  say:   "Our 


314  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

pulpit  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  denomination,  and 
therefore  we  want  something  more  than  sound  gospel  preaching." 
Our  Lord  will  never  suffer  the  churches  to  be  destitute  of  soul- 
winning  and  edifying  ministers,  but  He  has  never  promised  to  give 
them  orators,  poets,  philosophers,  and  deep  thinkers.  The  gifts 
of  the  Spirit  He  will  not  withhold,  but  there  are  gifts  of  mind 
which  are  rare,  and  always  will  be  rare  so  long  as  the  earth 
remaineth,  and  these  He  may  not  see  fit  to  give  to  a  larger  average 
of  men  in  this  age  than  in  former  periods.  If  the  churches  direct 
their  choice  by  these  rare  mental  attainments,  the  selection  of  a 
pastor  will  be  difficult  in  all  cases,  and  growingly  difficult  as  the 
number  of  our  churches  shall  be  multiplied. 

We  by  no  means  suggest  that  pastors  should  be  chosen  in  a 
hurry,  or  that  intelligent  churches  should  select  ignorant  minis- 
ters, or  that  zeal  and  spirituality  should  alone  be  considered  in  the 
election ;  on  the  contrary,  we  heartily  recognize  the  need  of  care, 
and  we  sympathize  with  the  difficulties  felt  by  our  larger  churches 
in  finding  suitable  preachers.  It  is  far  better  to  wait  for  years 
than  to  be  carried  away  by  a  few  starring  sermons,  and  choose  a 
man  who  will  cling  to  the  church  like  a  limpet,  and  suck  out  its 
very  life  like  a  fungus.  Better  no  man  than  the  wrong  man.  Our 
larger  and  more  educated  churches  might  with  advantage  have 
refined  and  learned  men  as  their  leaders.  We  believe  that  the 
more  a  man  knows  the  better,  and  the  more  culture  he  has  the 
better;  but  at  the  same  time  education,  refinement,  talent,  and 
culture  are  not  everything,  and  the  admiration  of  them  may  be 
carried  a  great  deal  too  far.  Gifts  may  be  exalted  above  graces, 
and  the  flowers  of  nature  made  to  rival  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit; 
and  this  will  be  a  grievous  error.  We  also  believe  that  large  and 
influential  churches  should,  as  a  rule,  look  out  men  of  considerable 
experience  and  proved  ability  to  be  their  spiritual  overseers ;  but 
even  this  may  be  overdone,  and  so  much  overdone  that,  when  the 
Lord  sends  the  right  man  for  the  place,  he  may  be  rejected, 
because  of  his  youth,  to  the  church's  serious  loss.  Let  the  highest 
and  holiest  ends  of  the  gospel  ministry  be  well  considered,  and  let 
a  pastor  be  sought  for  mainly  with  the  view  of  edifying  the  church 
and  glorifying  God,  and  we  are  persuaded  that  a  pastor  will  be 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  315 

found  ere  long.  Let  the  brethren  meet  in  prayer  continually,  and 
lay  their  case  before  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  and  we  feel 
persuaded  that  He  who  holds  the  seven  stars  in  His  right  hand  will 
find  a  star  for  each  pleading  church.  We  are  far  from  wishing  to 
insinuate  that  the  pastorless  churches  hav^e  not  prayed  already, 
but  we  would  urge  them  to  greater  importunity  in  supplication, 
and  beg  them  to  couple  with  their  earnest  request  a  full  resolve  to 
have  a  man  not  so  much  of  their  own  choice  as  of  the  Lord's  own 
choosing.  We  may  not  succeed  when  we  pray  for  a  pastor  after 
our  own  ideal,  but  we  cannot  fail  when  we  lay  all  our  wishes  and 
desires  at  the  Master's  feet  and  cry :  "  Send  by  whomsoever  Thou 
wilt  send."  This  business  must  become  more  divine  and  less 
human ;  we  must  look  itp  as  well  as  look  around,  and  we  shall 
find  the  upward  glance  to  be  the  more  successful. 


PRAISE   OF   MEN. 

The  youthful  worker  is  very  apt  to  be  exalted  should  he  receive 
a  little  praise,  and  there  are  many  injudicious  persons  who  are 
ready  to  lavish  eulogiums  upon  any  young  beginner  who  seems 
to  be  at  all  promising.  How  many  these  foolish  talkers  have 
seriously  injured  it  would  be  hard  to  say.  It  may  be  well  to 
whisper  in  the  young  man's  ear  that  very  little  store  is  to  be  set 
by  the  approbation  of  those  who  will  praise  a  youth  to  his  face ; 
they  are  mostly  fools,  and  sometimes  knaves.  "  There  are  that 
kiss  and  kill,"  say  the  cautious  Italians.  When  a  man  with  a  loud 
mouth  praises  me,  I  have  good  reason  to  be  wary  in  my  dealings 
with  him.  The  boa-constrictor  first  covers  its  victim  with  saliva 
and  then  swallows  him ;  and  we  have  known  serpents  of  both 
sexes  do  the  same  with  young  preachers.  Beware  of  the  net  of 
the  flatterer  and  the  bait  of  the  maker  of  compliments.  Human 
opinion  is  so  changeable,  and  even  while  it  lasts  it  is  of  so  mixed  a 
character  that  it  is  virtually  worth  nothing  at  all.  We  all  remem- 
ber how  the  men  of  Lystra  first  offered  to  worship  Paul,  and  then 


3l6  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

within  an  hour  began  to  stone  him.  Who  cares  to  run  for  a  crown 
which  melts  as  soon  as  it  wreathes  the  winner's  brow?  The  flash 
of  a  wave  or  the  gleam  of  a  meteor  is  not  more  fleeting  than 
popular  applause. 

Besides,  if  we  are  applauded  by  some  we  are  sure  to  be  obnox- 
ious to  others,  and  it  is  well  to  set  the  one  over  against  the  other. 
It  is  related  of  Mr.  Kilpin,  of  Exeter,  that,  going  through  the 
streets  of  that  city,  he  heard  a  person  say  of  him  as  he  passed : 
"  If  ever  there  was  a  good  man  upon  earth,  there  goes  one."  This 
was  elevating,  but  in  the  next  street  the  effect  of  this  praise  was 
counteracted  by  Mr.  Kilpin's  hearing  another  bystander  exclaim: 
"  If  ever  a  man  deserved  to  be  hanged,  that  fellow  does !  He 
makes  people  mad  with  his  preaching."  The  victim  of  unwise 
compliments  has  only  to  walk  into  another  room  and  hear  how 
roundly  certain  persons  are  abusing  him,  and  he  will  find  it  a  very 
useful  tonic.  It  is  never  summer  all  over  the  world  at  one  time, 
and  no  public  person  is  being  everywhere  esteemed.  Probably 
it  is  well  for  the  interests  of  truth  that  excesses  in  judgment  are 
relieved  by  their  opposites. 

Another  consideration  is  suggested  by  experience,  —  namely, 
that  praise  is  exceedingly  weakening.  If  we  allow  ourselves  to 
feel  its  soft  and  pleasant  influence  it  lays  us  open  to  feel  the 
caustic  and  painful  effects  of  censure.  After  a  judge  had  passed 
sentence  upon  a  certain  prisoner,  the  foreman  of  the  jury  that  had 
convicted  him  began  to  compliment  his  lordship  upon  the  remarks 
which  he  had  made  and  the  term  of  imprisonment  which  he  had 
awarded;  but  the  judge  at  once  stopped  him,  knowing  well  that 
if  he  had  allowed  himself  to  be  praised  by  one  jury  he  would  be 
Hable  to  be  blamed  by  another.  If  we  are  pervious  to  one  influ- 
ence we  shall  be  subject  to  its  opposite.  We  are  quite  sure  to  be 
slandered  and  abused,  and  it  is  well,  therefore,  for  us  to  have  a 
somewhat  thick  skin ;  but  if  we  listen  to  commendation  it  makes 
us  tender,  and  deprives  us  of  that  which  might  have  been  like 
armor  to  the  soul.  If  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  charmed  by  the 
tinklings  of  flattery  we  shall  be  alarmed  by  the  harsh  notes  of 
detraction.  We  must  either  be  proof  against  both  influences  or 
ag-ainst  neither. 


CONTRIBUTED  ARTICLES.  317 

A  man  who  becomes  dependent  upon  the  opinions  of  others 
lays  himself  open  to  contempt.  It  is  impossible  to  think  highly 
of  a  person  who  fishes  for  compliments.  To  value  esteem  so 
much  as  to  go  out  of  our  way  after  it  is  the  surest  possible  way 
to  lose  it.  When  we  consider  how  unevenly  the  human  hand 
holds  the  balances,  we  may  feel  but  small  concern  when  we  arc 
weighed  by  our  fellow-men.  If  we  consider  how  infinitely  pre- 
cious is  the  divine  regard,  we  shall  live  to  gain  it,  and  so  shall 
rise  above  all  slavish  consideration  of  the  opinions  of  our  fellows. 
What  said  the  wise  apostle  Paul?  "  But  with  me  it  is  a  very  small 
thing  that  I  should  be  judged  of  you,  or  of  man's  judgment:  yea, 
I  judge  not  mine  own  self.  For  I  know  nothing  by  myself;  yet 
am  I  not  hereby  justified ;  but  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord  " 
(i  Cor.  iv.  3,  4). 

Individuals  there  are  abroad  who  can  suck  in  any  measure  of 
praise  and  retain  a  large  receptiveness  for  more :  they  take  to  it, 
and  thrive  in  it,  like  fish  in  water.  You  may  choke  a  dog  with 
pudding,  but  you  could  never  satiate,  nor  even  satisfy,  these 
people  with  praise.  To  such  we  tender  no  advice,  for  to  bid 
them  shun  praise  would  be  as  useless  as  to  urge  the  ox  to  for- 
sake the  pasture  or  the  ass  its  master's  crib ;  such  persons  are, 
however,  of  small  worth  as  a  general  rule.  We  have  known 
exceptions.  We  remember  well  a  man  of  admirable  parts  and 
real  graces  of  character  who  was  nevertheless  ridiculously  vain ; 
but  he  was  manifestly  eccentric,  and  had  to  be  left  as  a  lot  out 
of  catalogue.  The  rule  is  that  the  vain  are  worthless,  and  to  them 
the  epigram  might  be  applied,  — 

"  Of  all  speculations  the  market  holds  forth 
The  best  that  I  know  for  a  lover  of  pelf. 
Were  to  buy  Balbus  up  at  the  price  he  is  worth. 
And  sell  him  at  that  which  he  sets  on  himself! " 


3l8         LIFE  AND  LABORS  OF  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 


BE   NOT   DISCOURAGED. 

Work  for  Jesus,  when  it  is  done  as  it  ought  to  be,  makes  great 
demands  upon  the  mind  and  heart.  Mere  jog-trot  routine  can 
keep  on  by  the  year  together  without  much  wear  and  tear,  and 
without  much  result ;  but  when  a  passion  for  souls  is  felt,  and  the 
entire  being  strains  its  utmost  powers  in  pleading  with  men,  the 
case  is  altered.  A  sermon  or  an  address  which  sensibly  moves 
the  audience  makes  a  large  demand  upon  the  heart's  blood  of  the 
soul :  as  a  rule,  it  not  only  costs  an  ardent  preparation  and  a 
vehement  rush  of  emotion  during  delivery,  but  it  tells  upon  the 
whole  system  when  it  is  over,  and  drains  from  it  much  of  its  force. 
An  express  train  may  put  on  the  continuous  brake,  and  pull  up  in 
a  short  space,  but  a  heart  in  tremendous  action  cannot  stay  itself. 
For  hours,  and  even  for  days,  the  whole  man  feels  the  momentum 
of  a  thrilling  appeal ;  his  soul  continues  to  rise  with  the  theme 
when  his  voice  is  silenced ;  and  w^ien  this  ceases  there  is  sure  to 
be  a  reaction,  which  frequently  takes  the  form  of  a  sinking  equal 
to  the  previous  rise.  If  not  well  watched  despondency  will  grow 
out  of  this,  and  the  best  workers  for  God  will  find  themselves 
weak,  w^eary,  and  tempted  to  shun  the  service.  This  is  to  be 
dreaded,  and  every  means  must  be  used  to  prevent  it.  Brethren, 
one  who  knows  by  experience  what  is  meant  by  a  downcast  spirit, 
produced  by  ardent  service,  would  warn  you  against  bringing  it 
upon  yourselves.  There  is  need  of  vehement  service,  and  there 
must  needs  be  a  great  draught  upon  the  strength  of  truly  useful 
men  and  women ;  but  there  is  no  necessity  for  our  running  down 
too  low,  —  in  fact  we  must  not  do  so,  or  our  usefulness  will  be 
marred.  We  must  be  careful  to  guard  against  monotony  of 
thought,  for  this  eats  as  doth  a  canker.  We  must  not  dwell  so 
exclusively  upon  our  work  and  its  responsibilities,  nor  even  upon 
the  souls  of  men  and  their  danger:  we  must  remember  more  dis- 
tinctly our  Lord  and  His  grace  and  power  to  save  us  and  our 
hearers.  We  must  remember  the  victories  of  the  cross  as  well  as 
the  ruin  of  the  fall.     Even  our  Lord  Jesus  did  not  always  reflect 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  319 

upon  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or  He  would  have  stood  weep- 
ing over  it  all  His  life,  and  have  accomplished  nothing  for  man- 
kind. Let  us  give  the  mind  a  wider  sweep,  and  consider  the 
glories  of  grace  as  well  as  the  sorrows  of  sin.  Great  joy  will  help 
to  repair  the  damage  of  great  work,  and  with  a  due  measure  of 
rest  between  we  may  hope  to  go  on  cheerfully  from  year  to  year, 
till  our  great  Master  shall  call  us  home. 


PERIL    FROM    THE    PULPIT. 

The  habit  of  perpetually  mentioning  the  theories  of  unbelievers 
when  preaching  the  gospel,  gives  a  man  the  appearance  of  great 
learning,  but  it  also  proves  his  want  of  common  sense.  In  order 
to  show  the  value  of  wholesome  food  it  is  not  needful  to  proffer 
your  guest  a  dose  of  poison,  nor  would  he  think  the  better  of 
your  hospitality  if  you  did  so.  Certain  sermons  are  more  calcu- 
lated to  weaken  faith  than  to  render  men  believers ;  they  resem- 
ble the  process  through  which  a  poor  unhappy  dog  is  frequently 
passed  at  the  Grotto  del  Cane  at  Naples.  He  is  thrown  into  the 
gas  which  reaches  up  to  the  spectators'  knees,  not  with  the  view 
of  killing  him,  but  merely  as  an  exhibition.  Lifted  out  of  his 
vapory  bath,  he  is  thrown  into  a  pool  of  water,  and  revives  in 
time  for  another  operation.  Such  a  dog  is  not  likely  to  be  a  very 
efficient  watch-dog  or  pursuer  of  game ;  and  when  hearers  Sun- 
day after  Sunday  are  plunged  into  a  bath  of  sceptical  thought, 
they  may  survive  the  experiment,  but  they  will  never  become 
spiritually  strong  or  practically  useful.  It  is  never  worth  while 
to  make  rents  in  a  garment  for  the  sake  of  mending  them,  nor  to 
create  doubts  in  order  to  show  how  cleverly  we  can  quiet  them. 
Should  a  man  set  fire  to  his  house  because  he  has  a  patent 
extincteiir  which  would  put  it  out  in  no  time,  he  would  stand  a 
chance  of  one  day  creating  a  conflagration  which  all  the  patents 
under  heaven  could  not  easily  extinguish.  Thousands  of  unbe- 
lievers have  been  born  into  the  family  of  scepticism  by  professed 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  who  supposed  that  they  were  helping  them 


320  LIFE    AND    LABORS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

to  faith :  the  fire  fed  upon  the  heaps  of  leaves  which  the  fooHsh, 
well-intentioned  speaker  cast  upon  it  in  the  hope  of  smothering 
it.  Young  men  in  many  instances  have  obtained  their  first  no- 
tions of  infidelity  from  their  ministers ;  they  have  sucked  in  the 
poison,  but  refused  the  antidote.  The  devil's  catechists  in  doubt 
have  been  the  men  who  were  sent  to  preach  "  believe  and  live." 
This  is  a  sore  evil  under  the  sun,  and  it  seems  hard  to  stay  it,  and 
yet  ordinary  common  sense  ought  to  teach  ministers  wisdom  in 
such  a  matter. 

Alas !  there  are  public  teachers  who  do  the  devil's  work  wit- 
tingly, for  if  you  hear  them  for  a  short  time  you  will  perceive 
that  nothing  is  certain  with  them  but  their  own  uncertainty. 
We  one  day  heard  a  tradesman  selling  old  lead  from  off  a  church 
to  a  person  who  dealt  in  that  metal.  "How  much  have  you?" 
said  the  buyer.  "  I  will  sell  you  eigJiteen  hundredweight,"  said 
the  seller,  "  and  guarantee  the  weight  if  you  take  it  away  to-day; 
but  mark  you,  I  will  not  warrant  that  there  shall  be  nine  hun- 
dredweight to-morrow."  "Why  not  ?"  said  the  buyer.  "Why," 
replied  the  other,  "  you  know  better  than  I  do  that  lead  evapo- 
rates very  mysteriously."  The  buyer  nodded  an  understanding 
nod,  and  bought  for  immediate  delivery.  We  also  marked  the 
metaphorical  statement,  and  remembered  how  mysteriously  the 
precious  treasure  of  the  gospel  "  evaporates "  in  the  hands  of 
some  workmen  who  need  to  be  ashamed.  "  Heigh, pirsto  I"  and 
away  the  wizard  makes  the  essential  truth  to  fly,  though  every 
word  he  uses  is  as  orthodox  as  the  creed.  In  a  book  of  Indian 
travels  the  writer  states  that  he  has  seen  marvellous  things  per- 
formed by  jugglers.  Believe  him  who  will,  he  states  that  he  saw 
two  conjurers  with  a  chain  fifty  cubits  long.  They  threw  one  end 
of  it  into  the  air,  and  there  it  remained  suspended.  A  dog  walked 
up  the  chain  and  disappeared  ;  then  a  goat  came  forward  and  did 
the  same ;  and  afterwards  a  lion  and  a  tiger  mounted  and  vanished 
in  like  manner.  Our  "  deep  thinkers  "  perform  this  trick  to  per- 
fection. The  heavenward  end  of  their  chain  of  thought  is  fixed 
somewhere  in  cloudland,  and  up  this  precious  chain  of  theirs  they 
have  long  ago  sent  the  doctrine  of  the  substitution  of  Christ,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  the  plenary  inspiration  of  Scripture,  and 


CONTRIHUTED   ARTICLES.  32 1 

other  eternal  verities ;  and  now  it  is  hinted  that  the  deity  of  our 
Lord,  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  the  personahty  of  God 
are  to  be  regarded  as  moot  points.  Up  into  the  air  all  positive 
truths  are  to  go  one  after  another  till  nothing  will  be  left.  At 
what  conclusion  will  they  arrive?  As  yet  they  have  come  to  no 
conclusion  but  this  —  that  nothing  can  ever  be  concluded. 

But  silence  !  If  you  say  half  a  word  you  will  be  called  unchari- 
table, or  perhaps  you  will  be  charged  with  bearing  false  witness 
against  your  neighbor.  Rats  may  undermine  a  Dutch  dyke  and 
drown  a  province,  but  to  hunt  them  would  be  cruelty  to  animals. 
Have  not  the  creatures  as  much  right  to  their  own  course  as  you 
have?  Burglars  may  break  into  our  houses,  and  even  take  our 
lives ;  but  hold  off,  ye  police  !  be  not  so  uncharitable  as  to  inter- 
rupt a  dexterity  so  admirable,  or  to  raise  a  hue  and  cry  against 
artistes  so  proficient.  They  are  amiable  men  in  family  life,  very 
clever  in  conversation,  and  much  esteemed  in  their  own  circles ; 
why  render  their  occupation  uncomfortable?  They  simply  differ 
upon  matters  of  opinion  as  to  rights  of  property,  and  if  they 
are  a  little  heterodox,  there  are  only  two  letters  of  difference 
between  ineuin  and  tmim,  and  it  is  a  shame  to  make  men  offend- 
ers for  so  insignificant  a  distinction.  Bah  !  We  execrate  the  thief, 
and  with  equal  justice  ought  we  to  expose  and  to  condemn  the 
traitor  who  robs  us  of  heavenly  treasure,  of  truth  vital  to  eternal 
life,  truth  which  is  absolutely  needful  to  our  soul's  salvation.  Pleas 
of  charity  to  error  are  arguments  for  the  murder  of  souls.  Life 
and  death  hang  upon  the  question  of  truth  or  falsehood ;  if  lies 
be  propagated  or  truth  be  clouded,  the  watchmen  of  the  Lord 
will  have  to  give  in  their  account  for  permitting  it.  For  our  part 
we  shall  not  cease  to  warn  till  the  occasion  is  removed,  and  at 
this  present  time  that  occasion  is  by  no  means  gone,  for  the  world 

swarms  with  — 

"  Philosophers  who  darken  and  put  out 
Eternal  truth  by  everlasting  doubt ; 
Discoverers  of  they  know  not  what,  confined 
Within  no  bounds  —  the  blind  that  lead  the  blind." 

Till  these  have  all  fallen  into  the  ditch  and  cleared  the  road  for 
honest  teachers  we  must  not  cease  to  warn  every  man,  that  none 
may  be  fatally  deceived  by  them. 


322  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF    C.    H.    Sl'URGEON. 


ON   BEING   IN   TIME. 

Punctuality  is  one  of  the  minor  moralities,  but  it  is  one  which 
every  young  man  should  carefully  cultivate.  The  very  smallness  of 
the  virtue  makes  its  opposite  vice  the  less  excusable.  It  is  as  easy 
to  be  in  time  as  it  is  to  be  five  minutes  late  when  you  once  acquire 
the  habit.  Let  it  be  acquired  by  all  means,  and  never  lost  again. 
Upon  that  five  minutes  will  depend  a  world  of  comfort  to  others, 
and  every  Christian  should  consider  this  to  be  a  very  weighty 
argument.  We  have  no  right  to  cause  worry  and  aggravation  to 
others,  when  a  little  thoughtfulness  on  our  part  would  prevent  it. 
If  the  engagement  be  for  twelve  o'clock,  we  have  no  authority  to 
make  it  12.5,  and  by  doing  so  we  shall  promote  nobody's  happi- 
ness. That  odd  five  minutes  may  create  discomfort  for  ourselves 
throughout  the  entire  day,  and  this  perhaps  may  touch  the  slug- 
gard a  little  more  keenly  than  any  less  selfish  consideration.  He 
who  begins  a  little  late  in  the  morning  will  have  to  drive  fast,  will 
be  constantly  in  a  fever,  and  will  scarcely  overtake  his  business  at 
night;  whereas  he  who  rises  in  proper  time  can  enjoy  the  luxury 
of  pursuing  his  calling  with  regularity,  ending  his  work  in  fit 
season,  and  gaining  a  little  portion  of  leisure.  Late  in  the  morn- 
ing may  mean  puffing  and  blowing  all  the  day  long,  whereas  an 
early  hour  will  make  the  pace  an  easy  one.  This  is  worth  a  man's 
considering.  Much  evil  comes  of  hurry,  and  hurry  is  the  child 
of  unpunctuality. 

The  waste  of  other  people's  time  ought  to  touch  the  late  man's 
conscience.  A  gentleman,  who  was  a  member  of  a  committee, 
rushed  in  fifteen  minutes  behind  the  appointed  hour,  and  scarcely 
apologized,  for  to  him  the  time  seemed  near  enough ;  but  a 
Quaker,  who  happened  also  to  be  on  the  committee,  and  had  been 
compelled  to  wait,  because  a  quorum  could  not  be  made  up  to 
proceed  with  the  business,  remarked  to  him:  "Friend,  thou  hast 
wasted  a  full  hour.  It  is  not  only  thy  quarter  of  an  hour  which 
thou  hast  lost,  but  the  quarter  of  an   hour  of  each  of  the  other 


CONTRIBUTED   ARTICLES.  323 

three;  and  hours  are  not  so  plentiful  that  we  can  afford  to  throw 
them  away."  We  once  knew  a  brother  whom  we  named  "  the  late 
Mr.  S ,"  because  he  never  came  in  time.  A  certain  tart  gen- 
tleman, who  had  been  irritated  by  this  brother's  unpunctuality, 
said  that  the  sooner  that  name  was  literally  true  the  better  for  the 
temper  of  those  who  had  to  wait  for  him.  Many  a  man  would 
much  rather  be  fined  than  be  kept  waiting.  If  a  man  must  injure 
me,  let  him  rather  plunder  me  of  my  cash  than  of  my  time.  To 
keep  a  busy  man  waiting  is  an  act  of  impudent  robbery,  and  is 
also  a  constructive  insult.  It  may  not  be  so  intended,  but  cer- 
tainly if  a  man  has  proper  respect  for  his  friend,  he  will  know  the 
value  of  his  time,  and  will  not  cause  him  to  waste  it.  There  is  a 
cool  contempt  in  unpunctuality,  for  it  as  good  as  says :  "  Let  the 
fellow  wait;  who  is  he  that  I  should  keep  my  appointment  with 
him?" 

In  this  world,  matters  are  so  linked  together  that  you  cannot 
disarrange  one  without  throwing  others  out  of  gear;  if  one  busi- 
ness is  put  out  of  time,  another  is  delayed  by  the  same  means. 
The  other  day  we  were  travelling  to  the  Riviera,  and  the  train 
after  leaving  Paris  was  detained  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  This  was 
bad  enough,  but  the  result  was  worse,  for  when  we  reached  Mar- 
seilles the  connecting  train  had  gone,  and  we  were  not  only 
detained  for  a  considerable  time,  but  were  forced  to  proceed  by 
a  slow  train,  and  so  reached  our  destination  six  hours  later  than 
we  ought  to  have  done.  All  the  subsequent  delay  was  caused 
through  the  first  stoppage.  A  merchant  once  said  to  us :  "  A.  B. 
is  a  good  fellow  in  many  respects,  but  he  is  so  frightfully  slow 
that  we  cannot  retain  him  in  our  office,  because,  as  all  the  clerks 
work  into  each  other's  hands,  his  delays  are  multiplied  enormously, 
and  cause  intolerable  inconvenience.  He  is  a  hindrance  to  the 
whole  system,  and  he  had  better  go  where  he  can  work  alone." 
The  worst  of  it  is  that  we  cannot  send  unpunctual  people  where 
they  can  work  alone.  To  whom  or  whither  should  they  go?  We 
cannot  rig  out  a  hermitage  for  each  one,  or  that  would  be  a  great 
deliverance.  If  they  prepared  their  own  dinners,  it  would  not 
matter  that  they  dropped  in  after  every  dish  had  become  cold.  If 
they  preached  sermons  to  themselves,  and  had  no  other  audience, 


324  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C,    H.    SPURGEON. 

it  would  not  signify  that  they  began  consistently  seven  minutes 
behind  the  published  hour.  If  they  were  their  own  scholars,  and 
taught  themselves,  it  would  be  of  no  consequence  if  the  pupil  sat 
waiting  for  his  teacher  for  twenty  minutes.  As  it  is,  we  in  this 
world  cannot  get  away  from  the  unpunctual,  nor  get  them  away 
from  us,  and  therefore  we  are  obliged  to  put  up  with  them ;  but 
we  should  like  them  to  know  that  they  are  a  gross  nuisance,  and  a 
frequent  cause  of  sin,  through  irritating  the  tempers  of  those  who 
cannot  afford  to  squander  time  as  they  do.  If  this  should  meet 
the  eye  of  any  gentleman  who  has  almost  forgotten  the  meaning 
of  the  word  "  punctuality,"  we  earnestly  advise  him  to  try  and  be 
henceforth  five  minutes  too  soon  for  every  appointment,  and  then 
perhaps  he  will  gradually  subside  into  the  little  great  virtue  which 
we  here  recommend.  Could  not  some  good  genius  get  up  a 
Punctuality  Association,  every  member  to  wear  a  chronometer, 
set  to  Greenwich  time,  and  to  keep  appointments  by  the  minute- 
hand?  Pledges  should  be  issued,  to  be  signed  by  all  sluggish 
persons  who  can  summon  up  sufficient  resolution  totally  to  abstain 
from  being  behind  time  in  church  or  chapel,  or  on  committee,  or 
at  dinner,  or  in  coming  home  from  the  office  in  the  evening. 
Ladies  eligible  as  members  upon  signing  a  special  pledge  to  keep 
nobody  waiting  while  they  run  upstairs  to  pop  on  their  bonnets. 
How  much  of  sinful  temper  would  be  spared,  and  how  much  of 
time  saved,  we  cannot  venture  to  guess.     Try  it. 


XXIV. 
REVIEWS. 


You  will  need  heavenly  teaching,  that  you  may  carefully  select  the  wheat, 
and  keep  it  free  from  the  darnel  of  error.  We  must  even  winnow  out  of  it  our 
own  thoughts  and  opinions,  for  these  may  not  be  according  to  the  mind  of  God. 
Men  are  not  saved  by  our  word,  but  by  God's  Word.  We  are  bound  to  see 
that  we  know  the  gospel,  and  teach  the  whole  of  it.  We  shall  have  enough 
to  do  if  we  look  well  to  the  seed-basket,  lest,  peradventure,  we  should  sow 
tares  as  well  as  wheat,  or  should  cast  good  seed  wantonly,  where  it  can  only 
feed  evil  birds.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


REVIEWS. 


AS  soon  as  our  monthly  "  Sword  and  Trowel "  comes  to  hand 
we  first  glance  at  the  "  Personal  Notes,"  reserving  the  weigl^t- 
ier  articles  for  leisure  moments.  But  we  somehow  manage  an 
after-dinner  pause  for  the  "  Reviews."  Thousands  of  books  pass 
through  Mr.  Spurgeon's  hands  and  under  his  sharp  eye,  although 
it  cannot  be  expected  that  he  personally  attends  to  every  book 
sent  him  for  review.  Nevertheless,  the  touch  of  his  hand,  the 
kindness  of  his  heart,  his  jealousy  for  the  truth,  his  great  good- 
humor,  keen  wit,  and  terrible  scalpel- knife  are  readily  discerned, 
according  as  the  subject  commends  itself  to  his  judgment  or  calls 
forth  his  righteous  indignation.  In  his  brief  expositions  of  other 
men's  works  we  have  found  "  a  feast  of  reason  and  a  flow  of  soul." 
The  subjoined  specimens  will  prove  a  treat,  as  well  as  impart 
instruction. 

Paper,  Pens,  and  Ink :  a  Brief  Sketch  of  the  Principal  Writing  Materials 
tised  in  all  ages.     By  Daniel  Frazer. 

A  SMALL  book  upon  a  fruitful  topic.  It  is  conceived  in  an  excel- 
lent spirit,  but  written  in  an  execrable  style.  We  do  not  like  such 
Frazerized  English.  If  the  matter  had  been  clothed  in  the  ordi- 
nary language  of  our  country,  without  new  words,  slipshod  ex- 
pressions, and  inaccuracies,  we  should  have  heartily  recommended 
the  book.  Here  is  a  pretty  sentence  :  "  The  collection  of  English 
rags  gives  employment  to  great  numbers  of  itinerant  china  mer- 
chants, rt'/Z^'i' '  bowl-women  and  men,' as  well  as  to  the  architects, 
artificers,   and   retailers   of  the   gaudily-painted,   but   non-grinding 


328  LIKE   AND    LAIiURS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

'  windmills  '  that  bedeck  the  '  one-wheel  carriages '  of  the  '  old 
iron,  old  brass '  merchants  who  perambulate,  to  the  infinite  delight 
of  '  the  young  and  rising  generation,'  our  urban  by-lanes  and 
retired  streets,  our  sequestered  villages  and  secluded  hamlets." 

The  History  of  the  Teactip ;  'with  a  Descriptive  Accojuit  of  the  Potter'' s  Art. 
By  the  Rev.  G.  R.  Wedgwood. 

It  has  seldom  fallen  to  our  lot  to  read  a  book  so  full  of  inter- 
esting details  all  directly  bearing  upon  the  subject  in  hand.  It  is 
singular  that  there  should  be  a  Rev.  Wedgw^ood  to  write  a  history 
of  the  teacup,  and  as  appropriate  as  it  is  singular.  We  think  that 
this  Wedgwood  as  much  excels  in  vv^riting  the  history  as  the  other 
Wedgwood  did  in  making  the  teacup  itself.  Old  and  young  will 
be  equally  pleased  with  this  book.  There  is  no  "  padding  "  in  it, 
no  introduction  of  foreign  themes  in  order  to  swell  the  size  of  the 
book.  The  author  is  never  dry  or  prolix,  he  says  what  he  has  to 
say,  says  it  briefly,  and  says  it  well.  There  may  be  more  laborious 
histories  of  the  art  of  pottery ;  we  do  not  doubt  that  there  are 
several  which  a  man  might  go  to  sleep  over ;  but  for  putting  the 
matter  in  a  nutshell,  commend  us  to  the  present  pretty  little 
volume. 

Aft  Examination  of  the  Doctrines  of  Conditional  Dmnortality  and 
Universalism. 

The  doctrine  of  Conditional  Immortality,  or,  as  we  prefer  to  call 
it.  Religious  Materialism,  is  here  very  thoroughly  refuted.  The 
idea  that  man  is  but  a  brute,  as  soulless  as  a  dog  or  a  lion,  until 
conversion  takes  place,  is  to  us  unaccountably  profane  and  absurd, 
and  yet  it  is  held  by  many  preachers  of  the  modern  school.  Its 
logical  contradictions  are  mercilessly  exposed  in  this  short  volume, 
and  its  distortion  of  the  Scriptures  made  apparent.  Heretic- 
hunting  is  sorry  work,  but  in  the  hands  of  our  author  it  is  power- 
fully and  thoroughly  performed.  May  it  accomplish  the  work  it 
designs,  in  helping  many  who  have  been  bewildered  by  strange 
fancies  to  return  again  to  the  old  paths ! 


REVIEWS.  329 

The  Unsafe  Aftchor:  or,  '■  Eternal  Hope  ^  a  False  Hope.     Beini^  Strictures  on 
Canon  Farrar's  Westminster  Abbey  Sermons. 

Although  the  interest  and  excitement  caused  by  Canon  Far- 
rar's  sermons  have  very  largely  vanished,  yet  it  was  well  that  the 
antidote  here  provided  should  be  preserved  in  a  permanent  form. 
The  poison  —  as  we  believe  it  to  be  —  was  presented  in  essentially 
a  popular  and  insidious  manner,  and  the  mischief  has  not  yet  ceased 
to  work.  Hence  the  value  of  this  little  volume,  though  it  comes 
somewhat  late  in  the  day.  The  author  does  not  play  with  his 
opponent,  but  in  his  sturdy,  trenchant  style  handles  very  roughly 
the  stale  fallacies  and  insipid  sentimentalities  of  the  Canon.  His 
exposure  of  the  contradictions  of  the  preacher's  view  —  or,  rather, 
position,  without  definite  view  —  is  exceedingly  powerful.  We 
heartily  agree  with  his  summary  of  the  sermons  when  he  says: 
"  I  have  never  read  a  work  by  an  Anglican  divine  of  which  the 
theology  was  so  shallow,  the  reasoning  so  inconclusive,  or  the 
criticism  so  unsatisfactory.  Certainly  I  never  encountered  one 
the  style  of  which  was  so  offensively  arrogant,  so  passionately 
dogmatic." 

A   New  Basis  of  Belief  in  fmmortality. 

Those  sceptics  of  the  present  day  who  find  in  modern  culture 
a  motive  for  repudiating  Christian  faith  are  often  grievously 
afflicted  with  unrest.  Their  thoughts  are  like  the  troubled  sea. 
Gladly  would  they  get  into  some  port  where  their  heads  would 
cease  to  swim.  This  is  the  disease  for  which  this  book  prescribes 
a  remedy,  —  a  remedy  as  bad  as  the  disease.  With  a  delicate 
pathos,  such  as  we  meet  with  in  advertisements  that  describe  the 
symptoms  of  sufierers,  and  prescribe  patent  medicines  warranted 
to  effect  an  immediate  cure.  Spiritualism  is  propounded  in  this 
treatise  as  a  sure  relief  and  a  safe  remedy  for  the  soul  sickness 
that  is  prevalent  among  agnostics.  Modern  spiritualism,  we  are 
told,  was  initiated  by  a  little  girl  named  Kate  Fox,  in  the  year 
1848,  at  Hydersville,  New  York.  With  the  phenomena  of  auto- 
matic writing,  clairvoyance,  and  trance-speaking,  through  the 
interposition  of  what  they  call  mediums,  we  have  become  too 
well  acquainted,  through  the  impostures  that  have  been   recently 


330  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

practised  on  credulous  victims.  There  would  seem,  however,  to 
be  educated  people  on  the  face  of  this  queer  world  who  not  only 
themselves  believe  in  these  lying  wonders,  but  think  that  the 
Scriptures  give  countenance  to  them.  "  Was  not  young  Samuel 
a  medium?"  they  will  ask  us.  We  shrink  with  horror  from  every 
species  of  sorcery.  In  the  hands  of  some  interpreters  the  Bible 
is  made  to  teach  anything  they  like  to  impute  to  it. 

The  Epoch  of  the  Mammoth,  and  the  Apfiarilion  of  Man  on  the  Earth. 

This  is  not  a  theological  work,  although  it  is  evidently  designed 
to  serve  a  theological  end.  By  the  citation  of  numerous  scientific 
facts  it  aims  to  refute  certain  scientific  hypotheses  that  have  too 
easily  become  popular  in  this  age  of  pyrrhonism,  and  so  to  recon- 
cile the  results  of  scientific  research  with  the  received  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture.  The  Christian  philosopher  is  not  in  fashion 
just  now.  He  gets  the  cold  shoulder  in  scientific  circles.  Such 
circles  are  very  select,  and  the  evidence  they  admit  is  rather 
exclusive.  After  pursuing  their  inquiry  into  the  operations  of 
nature  with  commendable  patience,  they  perplex  themselves  with 
endless  conjectures  as  to  the  explanation  of  the  conflicting  phe- 
nomena which  they  have  observed.  The  balance  of  probabilities 
has  then  to  be  discussed,  and  when  the  pros  and  cons  come  to  be 
fairly  poised,  we  are  left  in  doubt  on  which  side  the  verdict  is  to 
be  entered.  Of  course  it  is  of  little  consequence;  for  whether 
the  fossil-man  is  to  be  carried  back  to  the  glacial  age  or  not, 
counsel  will  be  sure  to  move  for  a  new  trial  before  the  rising  of 
the  court.  Nor  is  there  any  difficulty  in  showing  cause.  The 
field  is  large,  new  excavations  are  continually  being  made,  the  aid 
of  stronger  microscopic  power  is  persistently  sought,  and  a  keener 
sense  of  entire  disinterestedness  is  emulated  among  students. 
Working  on  his  own  lines.  Dr.  Southall  has  produced  a  highly 
interesting  volume.  Assuming  that  pretty  nearly  all  that  can  be 
known  is  known(  !)  he' sums  up  the  evidence,  and  shows  that  the 
Scriptures  have  not  been  broken.  At  such  an  assumption  the 
savans  may  smile :  but  the  bias  from  which  they  vaunt  themselves 
to  be  pure  betrays  itself  too  palpably.  They  are  never  pleased 
with  any  confirmation  of  the  ancient  archives ;   nothing  seems  to 


REVIEWS.  331 

delight  them  more  than  to  detect  a  semblance  of  discrepancy 
between  sacred  testimony  and  modern  discovery.  For  our  own 
part  we  hail  the  light  that  streams  upward  from  the  dark  places 
of  the  earth.  Archaeology,  geology,  and  physical  geography  are 
the  very  sciences  that  God  has  ordained  to  be  His  witnesses,  to 
frustrate  the  tokens  of  liars,  to  make  diviners  mad,  and  to  confirm 
the  word  of  His  servants  the  prophets. 

Popular  Recreation :  the  Theatre  as  it  is;  and  the  Ober-Ammergau  Play. 
By  Rev.  C.  Bullock,  B.D. 

Mr.  Bullock  has  done  right  well  in  smiting  hip  and  thigh  the 
modern  theatre,  which,  by  the  confession  even  of  the  daily  papers, 
which  make  no  pretence  of  being  religious,  is  growing  more  and 
more  impure.  How  Christian  men  and  women,  above  all  how 
Christian  ministers,  can  defend  it,  we  cannot  tell.  We  should  like 
to  scatter  this  little  book  broadcast  by  thousands,  and  let  our 
rising  manhood  and  womanhood  be  taught  to  shun  these  nine- 
teenth-century lazar-houses.  Well  done,  Mr.  Bullock ;  more 
strength  to  your  arm  ! 

Studies  in  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew.     By  Rev.  J.  Cynddylan 

Jones. 

Ye.s,  these  sermons  will  do.  They  are  far  above  the  average 
of  such  productions,  and  have  a  dew  upon  them  which  sparkles 
and  refreshes.  We  like  everything  in  this  worthy  Welshman's 
book,  although  we  cannot  pronounce  his  name. 

What  is   Truth  ?     As  it    is  ma7tifested  by  considering  the  Creator^  Creation, 
Rei/elation,  atid  Man. 

We  do  not  see  how  the  author  answers  the  question  of  the  title. 
After  trying  in  vain  to  read  and  understand  this  limp,  yellow- 
covered  emanation,  we  give  it  up  in  despair,  and  say:  "  How  we 
wish  writers  would  have  mercy  upon  readers,  and  at  least  put  their 
nonsense  in  language  that  can  be  understood."  Some  styles  of 
writing  could  fairly  be  described  as  "pea-soup"  styles,  —  cloud)-, 
thick,  muddy ;  but  for  ourselves  we  prefer  clear,  honest,  downright 
Saxon. 


332  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    Sl'URGFON. 

The  Fatherhood  of  Cod. 

One  of  the  most  poetic,  beautiful,  pseudo-philosophic,  but  alto- 
gether erroneous  books  on  the  Fatherhood  of  God  which  we  ever 
read.  As  insidious  and  attractive  as  it  can  be,  but  altogether  sub- 
versive of  the  very  fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel  concerning 
man's  ruin,  regeneration,  and  redemption.  Our  advice  concerning 
it  would  be  the  same  as  given  with  respect  to  the  proper  way 
of  preparing  cucumber.  "  Carefully  peel  and  slice  it,  flavor  with 
pepper,  salt,  and  vinegar,  and  then  —  eat  it?  Oh,  no;  tJirow  it  on 
the  diuigJiill !  " 

A  Man  every  Inch  of  Him :  or,  The  Story  of  Frank  Fullertoii' s  School-days. 
By  J.  Jackson  Wray. 

Capital  !  first-rate !  and  every  other  adjective  that  will  ex- 
press our  unmingled  admiration  of  this  book  of  books  for  English 
boys.  Once  let  it  be  seen  and  dipped  into,  and  no  boy  will  be 
able  to  rest  until  he  has  read  to  the  end ;  and  then  he  '11  want 
more.  Why,  it  kept  us  up  long  after  bedtime,  made  us  laugh 
and  cry  just  as  it  liked,  and,  when  we  left  off,  set  us  longing  to 
be  young  again,  took  the  wrinkles  out  of  our  face,  and  almost 
made  our  creaking  limbs  to  grow  supple!  Well  done,  Mr.  Wray! 
you  have  given  young  and  old  boys  alike  a  treat,  and  in  the  name 
of  boydom  in  general  we  vote  you  "  a  brick."  It 's  just  the  book 
for  a  Christmas-box,  a  birthday  present,  or  a  prize  gift ;  and  we 
hope  will  be  as  plentifully  scattered  as  snowflakes  in  January. 

Poor  Papa. 

We  have  had  enough  of  this  kind  of  literature.  "  Helen's 
Babies  "  was  clever  and  amusing,  but  one  such  book  is  quite 
enough  for  a  generation :  this  poor  and  strained  imitation  of  it 
might  have  been  spared  us.  Are  American  children  of  the  char- 
acter here  depicted?  Is  the  law  of  God,  which  bids  children  honor 
and  obey  their  parents,  regarded  as  an  obsolete  rule?  We  are 
sorry,  indeed,  if  this  be  the  case  !  The  rule  of  the  household  is 
the  root  and  foundation  of  all  government;  and  where  it  is  neg- 
lected boys  will   not  grow  up  to  be   good  citizens,  nor  will  girls 


REVIEWS.  333 

become  gracious  wives.  There  are  cases  around  us  where  chil- 
dren are  allowed  to  be  the  tyrants  of  the  family,  but  they  are  not 
so  many  as  to  be  the  rule,  nor  so  glaring  as  to  suggest  a  parallel 
case  to  that  of  "  Poor  Papa."  We  should  be  very  hard  up  for  fun 
before  we  should  waste  an  hour  over  such  a  poor  affair  as  this. 

Ei'erlastbig  Pimishment  not  Everlasting  Fain. 

If  assumption  is  as  good  as  argument,  and  dogmatism  as  good 
as  demonstration  in  proof  of  the  truth  of  a  position,  then  this 
pamphlet  is  unassailable,  for  it  is  full  of  dogmatic  assumption. 
Instead  of  the  infallible  standard  of  Scripture  we  are  constantly 
referred  to  the  "  instincts  of  humanity,"  and  thus  a  kind  of  relig- 
ious rationalism  is  substituted  in  place  of  devout  faith  in  the  Bible 
and  its  declarations.  We  should  fear  the  results  of  the  publication 
of  this  pamphlet  were  it  not  as  feeble  as  it  is  fallacious,  —  which 
is  saying  a  great  deal.  Materialism,  under  the  guise  of  annihila- 
tion, will  need  to  get  more  manly  and  more  powerful  to  win  many 
converts ;  and  even  then  we  shall  prefer  the  manliness  and  power 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

Gougii's  Portrait. 

A  FINE  lithographed  portrait  of  John  B.  Gough  for  one  shilling. 
Seldom  have  we  seen  so  striking  a  likeness ;  you  can  almost  hear 
him  say,  "  Water  for  me  !  " 

Christianity  and  the  Science  of  Religion.     By  Rev.  J.  S.  Banks. 

It  has  become  fashionable  in  certain  quarters  to  assert  that  the 
Christian  religion  is  only  a  development  of  man's  genius.  The 
Hibbert  Lectures  of  Max  Miiller  and  Renan  have  made  this  the- 
ory popular  and  plausible,  and  now,  in  place  of  a  Word  of  God, 
the  Scriptures  are  turned  into  a  human  evolution.  Mr.  Banks, 
whose  knowledge  of  the  Hindoo  mind  gained  as  a  missionary 
gives  him  peculiar  qualifications  for  the  task,  sets  himself  to  dis- 
prove this  from  the  facts  of  the  Hindoo  religion.  And  very  pow- 
erful is  the  result.  Ninety-nine  Christians  out  of  a  hundred  have 
never  been  troubled  on  the  question  ;  but  the  hundredth,  and 
Biblical  students  in  general,  will  be  greatly  helped  by  this  lecture. 


334  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Clear  logic  and  relentless  argument  make  the  ghostly  theories  to 
fly  before  our  author's  piercing  analysis ;  and  after  the  mists  and 
fogs  are  dissipated,  there  stands  the  Word  of  God  as  immovable 
a  rock  as  ever.     Well  done,  Mr.  Banks ! 

The  Christian'' s  Plea  agaitist  Modern  Unbelief. 

The  argument,  the  author,  and  the  auspices  under  which  this 
treatise  is  brought  out,  all  combine  to  bespeak  for  it  a  favorable 
consideration.  As  a  manual,  prepared  at  the  request  of  "  The 
Christian  Evidence  Society,"  it  deals  mainly  with  the  outworks  of 
the  Church's  citadel.  In  discussing  first  principles  —  such  as  the 
existence  of  God,  the  possibility  of  revelation,  the  credibility  of 
miracles,  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  or  the  canon  of  Scripture  — 
with  professed  sceptics  and  positive  opponents  of  the  gospel,  those 
who  plead  for  truth  are  often  awkwardly  apologetic.  Too  much 
deference  is  shown  to  the  doubter,  and  if  he  has  an  academical 
degree,  it  is  supposed  to  impart  authority  to  his  dogged  disbelief 
Mr.  Redford  has  acquitted  himself  well  in  furnishing  the  Christian 
advocate  with  a  systematic  view,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  various 
phases  of  infidelity,  skilfully  focussed ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  of 
the  facts,  historic  or  rational,  which  bear  witness  to  those  truths 
that  cannot  be  shaken  however  much  they  may  be  assailed.  But 
what  about  those  individuals  whose  proclivities  are  in  a  greater 
or  lesser  degree  atheistic?  Have  we  an  essay  here  that  is  likely 
to  reclaim  them?  Our  author  imagines  that  simple  theism  may 
become  an  adytum  to  the  inner  sanctuary  of  more  select  evi- 
dences. "  Like  travellers  passing  through  various  regions  [of 
desert  land  and  cloudy  atmosphere!],  and  being  variously  affected 
on  the  way;  having  reached  the  end  of  the  journey,  the  retro- 
spect is  an  unbroken  and  restful  assurance."  We  are  not  so 
sanguine.  Such  pilgrims  to  the  promised  land  have  never  crossed 
our  path.  We  have  never  witnessed  any  real  converting  power 
till  we  could  get  people  within  those  lines  that  he  scrupulously 
avoids.  To  his  idea  it  is  not  only  permissible,  but  helpful,  to 
separate  the  theism  of  Christianity  from  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  faith ;  and  the  authority  of  Scripture  from  the  interpre- 
tation of  its  contents ;    in  a  word,  by  reasoning,  to  break  down 


REVIEWS.  335 

their  negations  without  instructing  them  in  any  positives  in  lieu 
thereof.  This  is  a  curious  experiment;  but  let  a  lady,  who  had 
studied  more  philosophy,  ancient  and  modern,  than  the  most  of 
us,  relate  her  experience  in  better  words  than  we  can  aspire  to :  — 

"  I  read  books  bad  and  good  —  some  bad  and  good 
At  once  ;  (good  aims  not  always  make  good  books  ; 
Well-tempered  spades  turn  up  ill-smelling  soils 
In  digging  vineyards  even)  books  that  prove 
God's  being  so  definitely,  that  man's  doubt 
Grows  self-defined  the  other  side  the  line, 
Made  atheist  by  suggestion." 

For  other  reasons  than  Mrs.  Barrett  Browning  would  assign,  we 
are  convinced  that  the  cold  logic  of  Christian  evidences  is  a  poor 
specific  that  has  seldom  or  never  proved  a  cure  for  unbelief  That 
department  of  polite  literature  called  Natural  Religion  leads 
nowhere  and  profiteth  nothing,  so  far  as  we  could  ever  ascertain. 
It  fills  the  air  with  volatile  sentiment,  and  expresses  itself  in  lack- 
adaisical phrases  about  "  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator,"  "  the 
beauty  of  His  works,"  or  "  the  traces  of  design  that  are  scattered 
through  the  universe."  Simple  theism  is  a  paltry  subterfuge. 
What  these  poor  souls  need  is  saving  faith.  Why  should  we  dally 
with  their  prejudices?  The  first  postulate  is  this:  "  He  that  com- 
eth  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  seek  Him."  The  second  postulate  is :  "  He 
that  believeth  in  God  must  accept  Christ  as  a  mediator."  And 
the  third  postulate  is :  "  He  that  accepteth  the  one  Mediator 
between  God  and  men  must  receive  the  atonement."  Or  other- 
wise, should  the  honest  sceptic  be  persuaded  to  acknowledge  a 
Deity,  he  cannot  possibly  rejoice  in  God  or  sing  praises  unto  the 
Lord  with  the  spirit  and  the  understanding.  For  a  Christian  min- 
ister to  plead  with  an  infidel  to  become  a  theist  sounds  prepos- 
terous to  us.  If  it  is  only  an  initiative,  yet  it  is  such  an  initiative 
as  one  might  use  in  attempting  gradually  to  reform  criminals  by 
entreating  burglars  not  to  carry  firearms.  The  ministry  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  knows  no  half  measures. 

On  the  works  of  fiction  sent   him   for  review,   Mr.   Spurgeon 
writes :  We  confess  that  the  heaps  of  tale-books  are  not  person- 


336  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

ally  perused  by  us ;  we  would  sooner  break  stones.  As  folks  will 
have  these  religious  fictions,  we  do  our  best  to  let  them  know 
which  of  them  are  well-intentioned,  but  we  do  not  advise  the 
reading  of  them  to  any  great  extent.  A  little  pastry  may  be  all 
very  well  (our  slow  digestion  suggests  that  the  less  the  better), 
but  to  live  upon  it  would  be  to  generate  dyspepsia  and  all  sorts 
of  ills ;  even  so,  an  interesting  story  now  and  again  may  be  a  relief 
and  a  pleasure,  but  a  constant  course  of  such  reading  must  injure 
both  mind  and  heart.  From  the  quantity  of  fiction  which  we 
have  lately  received  we  should  think  that  its  perusal  needs  no 
encouraging,  and  a  little  repression  might  be  healthy. 

Holy-Days  and  Holidays. 

Although  most  of  these  holy-days  and  holidays  are  the  off- 
spring of  sheer  superstition,  yet  w^e  may  as  well  know  the  ways  and 
follies  of  our  neighbors,  and  this  book  sets  them  forth  in  a  pleasant 
manner.  It  is  clear  that  our  forefathers  in  the  days  of  "  merrie 
England  "  Avent  very  earnestly  into  the  work  of  making  fools  of 
themselves. 

The   Doctrines  of  Annihilation  and   Universalisin  viewed  in  the   Light  of 
Reason,  Analogy,  and  Revelation. 

This  is  a  second  edition  of  a  work  which  we  favorably  reviewed 
some  two  years  ago.  It  is  now  furnished  with  additional  notes  on 
"  Salvator  Mundi."  It  is  a  good  antidote  to  the  pernicious  as- 
sumptions of  the  Universalist  school,  and  therefore  it  deserves  a 
large  sale ;  but  we  are  sick  of  the  whole  controversy.  It  is  a 
remarkable  thing  to  note  the  limited  range  of  heresy,  and  how 
it  is  obliged  to  dish  up  its  old,  old  fragments,  and  palm  them  off 
as  novelties  labelled  "  Modern  Thought." 

John  Ploughinan''s   Talk.     By  C.  H.   Spurgeon.     Three  Hundred  and  Tenth 

Thousand. 

The  sale  of  our  book  has  amazed  its  author.  It  has  been  said 
that  it  is  not  original,  but  only  a  number  of  proverbs  strung 
together :  this  is  strictly  true,  and  no  one  is  more  ready  to  own  it 
than  John  Ploughman ;  but  why  did  not  some  one  else  carry  out 


REVIEWS.  337 

the  idea  of  putting  proverbs  together?  Any  one  can  make  an 
egg  stand  on  its  end  when  once  he  has  seen  it  done.  Our  book  is 
simpHcity  itself,  and  quite  devoid  of  genius,  and  yet  here  it  is,  in  a 
new  edition,  selhng  still  after  three  hundred  thousand  have  gone 
forth.  We  thought  it  time  to  improve  the  shape  of  the  book  and 
throw  in  a  few  engravings,  and  now  we  hope  that  John  Ploughman 
will  take  a  new  lease  and  run  on  to  half  a  million.  Its  strength  lies 
in  the  wholesome  proverbs  which  are  floating  about  everywhere,  but 
have  here  been  diligently  collected  and  congenially  dovetailed  so 
as  to  make  up  lively,  continuous  reading,  intended  to  convey  good 
morals  to  the  myriads  of  working  men  who  will  never  read  that 
which  is  dull  and  dreary,  however  profound  may  be  the  instruction 
contained  therein. 

T/ie  Unwelcome  Baby,  and  what  became  of  Him. 

"  The  Unwelcome  Baby  "  is  the  Rev.  John  Todd,  and  this  book 
commences  with  his  life.  The  title  looks  to  us  a  little  like  a  dodge 
for  selhng  the  book,  for  "  The  Unwelcome  Baby"  only  occupies  a 
third  part  of  it,  and  the  rest  is  made  up  of  the  lives  of  John  Cole- 
ridge Patteson,  Mary  Fletcher,  Alfred  Cookman,  Fidelia  Fiske, 
and  Emile  Cook.  We  shall  never  cease  to  protest  against  this 
radically  false  method  of  naming  a  book  from  one  of  its  articles. 
In  this  case,  should  anybody  be  led  to  buy  the  book  by  the  title 
he  will  be  able  to  put  it  into  the  hand  of  a  youngster  without  fear, 
or  rather  with  the  full  hope  that  it  will  do  him  good. 

Crocker,  the  Clown. 

If  any  young  gentleman  should  be  inspired  with  the  ambition 
of  figuring  in  a  travelling  show,  he  will  probably  be  delivered  from 
the  infatuation  by  reading  this  amusing  history  of  Jameson's  Grand 
American  Circus.  We  believe  that  such  books  as  this  answer  a 
real  and  practical  purpose  by  dispelling  the  false  charms  which 
surround  theatrical  performances.  If  somebody  would  write  a 
book  to  take  the  glory  out  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe,"  it  would  be 
one  of  the  best  works  of  our  generation,  for  multitudes  of  lads 
are  no  doubt  led  astray  and  ruined  for  practical  business  purposes 
by  that  masterpiece  of  fiction. 


338  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

The  Masque  Tor7i  Off.     By  T.  de  Witt  Talmage,  D.  D. 

With  Mr,  Talmage  in  preaching  the  gospel  we  are  heartily  at 
one,  but  from  Mr.  Talmage  as  an  amateur  detective  we  part  com- 
pany. It  may  not  only  be  right  to  enter  the  dens  of  New  York 
in  order  to  expose  their  evils,  but  it  may  even  be  heroic  to  do  so: 
it  is  not,  however,  a  work  which  we  would  undertake  for  any  con- 
sideration, nor  one  from  which,  according  to  our  judgment,  any 
great  benefit  can  arise.  Mr.  Talmage  seems  to  us  to  make  small 
progress  in  depth  of  spirituality  and  fulness  of  divine  experience, 
but  to  be  straining  himself  to  say  striking  things.  This  is  not  a 
state  of  things  to  be  commended,  and  we  hope  that  the  preacher 
will  grow  out  of  it ;  at  the  same  time  we  are  sure  that  his  sermons 
have  charms  for  many  minds,  and  that  they  do  not  deserve  the 
savage  condemnation  which  critics  have  poured  upon  them. 

Infidelity  Refuted:  or.,   The  Christian  Safeguard  against  its  Errors. 

Externally  this  book  is  singularly  unattractive,  for  the  paper 
cover  does  not  bear  a  line  or  word  of  title ;  but  within  there  is 
much  to  commend.  Persons  in  doubt  as  to  vital  truths  will  be 
helped  by  the  clear,  logical  arguments  here  put  in  order;  and 
those  who  seek  the  conversion  of  the  sceptic  will  find  in  this 
treatise  a  powerful  weapon  for  defence  and  attack.  The  form  of 
question  and  answer  spoils  a  book  for  consecutive  reading,  but  it 
has  its  advantages  when  the  object  is  controversy.  If  any  of  our 
readers  are  driven  into  contact  with  Atheists,  and  desire  a  handy 
book  which  may  aid  them  in  defending  the  truth,  we  would  urge 
them  to  purchase  Mr.  Preston's  little  work. 

Compa7iioti  to  the  Revised   Version   of  the  English  New  Testament. 
By  A.  Roberts,  D.  D. 

Every  student  of  the  Bible  who  can  afford  half-a-crown  should 
get  this  most  useful  and  entertaining  volume.  It  contains  the  sort 
of  reading  which  has  the  most  charm  for  us,  for  it  deals  with  the 
Scriptures  themselves  and  their  meaning  in  a  most  pleasant  man- 
ner. Reading  this  "  Companion,"  the  alterations  of  the  Revised 
Version  become  vastly  more  intelligible ;   for  one  sees  the  why 


REVIEWS.  339 

and  the  wherefore  for  each  of  them.  Sitting  down  to  these  pages 
with  the  two  versions  before  us  we  forget  all  the  worries  of  life, 
and  beguile  the  hour  in  a  manner  which  leaves  substantial  profit 
behind.  Even  if  the  reader  should  be  innocent  of  Greek,  Dr. 
Roberts  Avill  give  him  abundant  instruction;  but  if  he  has  a  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  the  sacred  tongue  he  will  not  find  the 
work  superfluous.  We  take  the  utmost  pleasure  in  commending 
the  little  book  to  all  Christian  people,  especially  to  those  who  are 
teachers  of  others. 

A  Reason  for  the  Hope  thai  is  in  Vou  :   or,  What  the  Baptists  Believe,  and 
Why.     By  Rev.  W.  Hanson. 

This  is  a  well-written  manual,  very  instructive  and  convincing. 
It  deserves  to  be  studied  by  all  our  Baptist  Bible-classes,  that  our 
young  people  may  know  what  their  fathers  believe,  and  why. 
There  is  a  remarkable  clearness  and  completeness  about  the  work 
for  so  small  a  book,  and  its  tone  is  all  that  could  be  desired.  It 
deserves  to  be  bought  by  every  Baptist,  and  then  lent  or  given  to 
those  who  as  yet  have  not  entered  into  our  liberty.  We  might 
differ  from  the  writer  here  and  there,  but  we  much  prefer  to  take 
off  our  hat  and  say,  "  Mr.  Hanson,  we  are  all  obliged  to  you." 

The  Philosophy  of  Science,  Experience,  and  Revelation. 

We  have  heard  of  metaphysics  being  defined  as  "  an  attempt 
to  tell  another  what  you  do  not  understand  yourself;  "  and  such 
a  description  would  well  apply  to  the  philosophy  which  the  author 
of  this  work  tries  to  expound.  Everything  in  heaven  and  in  earth 
is  dabbled  in ;  and,  where  confusion  already  existed,  it  is  worse 
confounded  by  this  attempt  at  explanation.  The  climax  of  ab- 
surdity is  reached  when  we  are  told  that  for  man  to  be  renewed 
in  the  divine  image,  all  that  is  needed  is  the  study  of  the  example 
of  Jesus  Christ.  For  "  to  redeem  man  the  Invisible  God  manifests 
Himself  as  man,  and  by  His  life  in  Jesus  Christ  shows  to  men  a 
perfect  example  of  how  they  ought  to  live,  and  to  teach  them 
that  since  God  has  found  a  means  of  being  gracious  to  them,  they 
ought  also  to  be  gracious  and  forgivi'ng  towards  each  other,"  —  a 
mixture  of  diluted  Socinianism  and  metaphysical  muddle. 


340  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Sermons.     By  the  Rev   Phillips  Brooks. 

These  sermons  would  never  have  been  brought  under  public 
notice  if  they  had  not  come  from  a  rector  of  an  Episcopal  church 
at  Boston,  in  America,  —  and  had  they  not  possessed  the  modern 
attraction  of  originality  of  thought  struggling  for  expression  in 
a  loose  and  irregular  style.  They  are  more  rational  than  evan- 
gelical, more  intellectual  than  rational,  and  more  emotional  than 
intellectual.  How  far  the  two  extremes  of  this  book  and  the 
New  Testament  are  apart  may  be  judged  by  one  brief  quotation : 
"  Such,  then,  is  the  story  of  Christ's  crucifixion,  in  and  with  and 
for  humanity.  It  is  no  fantastic  conception  of  the  imputation  to 
Him  of  a  sinfulness  which  was  not  His,  of  God's  counting  Him 
guilty  of  wickedness  which  He  had  never  done.  It  is  something 
infinitely,  awfully  more  real  than  that."  If  we  inquire  what  that 
something  is,  we  are  told  it  is  an  example  of  self-sacrifice,  or  dying 
unto  sin.  Such  sermons,  and  their  name  is  legion,  remind  us  of 
those  words  of  the  far-seeing  Isaiah  :  "  Behold,  all  ye  that  kindle 
a  fire,  that  compass  yourselves  about  with  sparks:  walk  in  the 
light  of  your  fire  and  in  the  sparks  that  ye  have  kindled.  This 
shall  ye  have  of  mine  hand  ;  ye  shall  lie  down  in  sorrow."  "  This 
verse,"  a  certain  commentator  observes,  "  is  addressed  to  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  and  such  as  refuse  the  light  of  the 
Divine  Word,  but  kindle  a  fire  of  their  own,  compassing  them- 
selves about  with  false  doctrines  and  corrupting  the  truth.  The 
power  of  Christ  shall  extinguish  all  such,  and  envelop  them  with 
darkness  and  despair."  It  is  not  surely  with  unrighteous  indigna- 
tion that  we  thus  speak,  when  we  see  those  in  high  places  of  the 
Church  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  who,  when  for  the  time 
they  ought  to  be  teachers,  have  need  that  one  teach  them  again 
which  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God. 

Social  Purity :  att  Address.     By  Josephine  E.  Butler. 

We  are  sorry  that  there  should  be  need  for  a  lady  to  deliver 
such  an  address,  but  as  there  is  such  a  need  we  rejoice  that  the 
woman  is  forthcoming  who  is  not  ashamed  to  vindicate  her  sex. 
We  live  in  a  wretched  age,  when  princes  and  peers  have  thought 


REVIEWS.  341 

it  an  honor  to  enjoy  the  society  of  a  strumpet,  and  Christian 
newspapers  advocate  the  theatre.  Contagious  diseases  acts  are 
passed  to  make  it  safe  for  men  to  sin,  and  licenses  are  issued 
for  the  torturing  of  dumb  animals.  It  is  enough  to  make  the 
stones  to  speak,  and  we  wonder  not  that  women,  bursting  through 
their  natural  retirement,  rush  forward  to  plead  for  chastity  and 
humanity  while  there  is  yet  a  relic  of  it  left.  May  the  Social 
Purity  Alliance  prosper  so  greatly  that  its  lady  members  may  yet 
be  able  to  hold  their  tongues,  and  keep  clear  consciences  too. 

Thought  Blossoms,  gathered  at  Richmo7id.     By  J.  Hunt  Cooke. 

Real  poetry !  A  rare  thing  to  find  much  of  that  article  among 
the  rhymes  which  come  to  us  in  bewildering  profusion.  But  this 
little,  limp,  thin  affair  is  not  of  the  common  order  after  all.  We 
groaned  as  we  picked  it  up,  "  Poetry  again !  "  or  did  we  say 
Poor  try  ?  However,  we  groan  no  longer,  for  we  have  been  re- 
warded for  our  pains  by  finding  amid  the  ore  far  more  numerous 
traces  of  precious  metal  than  we  are  wont  to  discover.  Mr.  Cooke 
does  not  rival  Cowper  or  Young,  but  he  sings  very  sweetly,  and 
strikes  out  many  living  thoughts.  Here  are  voices  from  among 
the  trees,  well  rendered  into  the  language  of  mortals :  — 

THE    VOICES    OF    THE    WIND. 

"  Diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit."  —  i  Cor.  xii.  4. 

I  lay  in  a  grove  one  noonday  clear, 

And  listened,  the  language  of  trees  to  hear. 

The  selfsame  wind  that  gave  them  speech 
A  different  message  spoke  through  each. 

The  elm,  that  towered  in  majestic  height, 
Told  of  a  rushing,  unseen  might. 

The  willow,  that  stood  the  river  by. 

Said,  "  life  was  sad,"  with  a  long-drawn  sigh. 

The  poplar,  whose  head  so  high  was  reared, 
Shrieked  with  alarm,  for  he  danger  feared. 

The  birch,  with  whispering  long  and  low, 
Hinted  at  mvsterv  none  might  know. 


342  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

The  oak  upreared  a  noble  form, 

But  solemnly  spoke  of  the  power  of  storm. 

The  beech  clapt  together  its  thousand  hands, 
And  seemed  to  rejoice  in  the  wind's  commaxids. 

The  firs  in  deep  low  thunder  tones 

Declared  that  the  breeze  came  laden  with  moans. 

The  linden  in  whispers  seemed  to  tell, 
Though  life  was  mystery  all  was  well. 

To  each  the  wind  had  revealed  the  same, 
But  from  each  a  different  utterance  came. 

So  does  a  rumor  to  men  appear,  — 
To  some  it  brings  joy,  to  others  fear. 

Some,  dark  spots  on  the  sun  will  find; 
Some,  that  each  cloud  is  silver-lined. 

Thus  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  various  ways, 
By  men  declares  His  glorious  praise. 

In  each  some  diverse  gift  we  see, 
And  learn  a  lesson  of  charity. 

For  harmony  only  beautifies, 
When  different  sounds  together  rise. 


On  a  Book  on  Cookery. 

From  our  domestic  department  comes  the  verdict,  "  Very  good." 
If  we  could  multiply  Mrs.  Warren,  in  fact,  have  a  warren  of  War- 
rens, what  a  blessing  it  would  be  !  Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness, 
and  cookery  is  next  to  cleanliness.  How  many  times  a  man  is  made 
to  sin  by  seeing  good  meat  spoiled,  and  excellent  food  served  up 
in  a  dirty,  sickening  manner.  Surely  it  was  a  grievous  temptation 
to  wrath  when  a  hungry  traveller  ordered  chops  at  an  inn  within  a 
hundred  miles  of  London,  and  had  them  served  up  swimming  in 
greasy,  watery  gravy — fried !  He  had  been  hoping  to  have  them 
fresh  from  a  clear  fire,  —  but  he  was  assured  that  they  did  not 
cook  chops  in  that  way  in  this  part  of  the  country.  It  is  time 
that  missionaries  should  be  sent  into  such  a  benighted  region. 
Half  the  food  that  is  eaten  in  England  is  spoiled  before  it  comes 
to  table.     Working  men's  wives,  many  of  them,  need  to   learn  to 


REVIEWS.  343 

cook;  and  to  teach  them  this  science  would  go  far  towards  making 
their  homes  comfortable  and  their  husbands  sober.  It  is  a  pity  that 
the  animal,  man,  should  be  so  much  governed  by  his  food,  but  it 
is  so,  and  therefore  those  who  would  keep  a  man  good-tempered, 
especially  an  Englishman,  should  know  how  to  cook  his  victuals 
for  him.  There  is  more  religion  in  making  home  comfortable  and 
cooking  food  properly  than  in  all  the  millinery  and  horticulture  of 
High-Church  ceremonials. 

Mrs.  Warren's  book  is  a  valuable  help  to  housewives. 

A  Book  of  Remembrance  in  Relation  to  the  lifystery  of  God. 

We  give  it  up.  Tlie  author,  probably,  had  some  meaning  upon 
his  mind  when  he  wrote  his  book,  but  he  has  concealed  it  by 
his  words.  We  have  tried  a  friend  or  two,  getting  them  to  read 
a  page  or  so,  but,  like  ourselves,  they  were  dead  beaten  before 
long,  and  declared  that  they  could  neither  make  top  nor  tail  of  it. 
Distant  approximations  to  sense  occur,  but  they  only  tempt  the 
reader  onward  into  some  sentences  so  obscure  that  he  finds  him- 
self utterly  lost.  If  anybody  wishes  to  be  completely  confused 
and  bewildered,  let  him  read  this  book. 


344  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PSALM  LXXXII. 

The  kings  of  earth  are  in  the  hands 

Of  God  who  reigns  on  high, 
He  in  their  council-chamber  stands, 

And  sees  with  watchful  eye. 

Though  foolish  princes  tyrants  prove, 

And  tread  the  godly  down, 
Though  earth's  foundations  all  remove, 

He  weareth  still  the  crown. 

They  proudly  boast  a  godlike  birth, 

In  death,  like  men,  they  fall. 
Arise,  O  God,  and  judge  the  earth, 

And  rule  the  nations  all. 

When  shall  Thy  Son,  the  Prince  of  Peace, 

Descend  with  glorious  power  .'* 
Then  only  shall  oppression  cease  : 

Oh,  haste  the  welcome  hour. 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


XXV. 
LETTERS. 


The  object  of  the  gospel  is  not  to  make  men  anxious,  but  to  calm  their 
anxieties  ;  not  to  fill  them  with  endless  controversy,  but  to  lead  them  into  all 
truth.  The  gospel  gives  rest  of  conscience  by  the  complete  forgiveness  of  sin 
through  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ ;  rest  of  heart  by  supplying  an  object  for 
the  affections  worthy  of  their  love  ;  and  rest  of  intellect  by  teaching  it  cer- 
tainties which  can  be  accepted  without  question.  Our  message  does  not 
consist  of  things  guessed  a'-,  by  wit,  nor  evolved  out  of  man's  inner  conscious- 
ness by  study,  nor  developed  by  arguinent  through  human  reason  ;  but  it  treats 
of  revealed  certainties,  absolutely  and  infallibly  true,  upon  which  the  under- 
standing may  rest  itself  as  thoroughly  as  a  building  rests  upon  a  foundation  of 
rock.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


LETTERS. 


MR.  SPURGEON'S  correspondence  is  simply  voluminous. 
We  were  present  on  one  occasion  when  his  mail-bag 
arrived,  and  soon  hundreds  of  letters  lay  piled  on  his  table. 
Naturally,  while  human  nature  is  what  it  is,  he  is  questioned  on 
every  subject  in  heaven,  and  earth,  and  under  the  earth.  Thou- 
sands of  letters  in  the  year  must  reach  the  waste-basket,  but  no 
letter  of  importance  escapes  his  notice,  and  he  is  occupied  for 
hours  each  Saturday  answering  correspondents.  Many  letters 
reach  him,  extracts  of  which  find  their  way  to  the  pages  of  his 
magazine.  The  preacher  who  receives  them  must  feel  deeply 
thankful  that  he  is  so  highly  honored  of  God  in  the  ministry  of 
the  gospel.  Many  of  them  possess  peculiar  interest,  and  to 
gratify  our  readers  we  subjoin  specimen  copies.  Their  publication 
is  not  designed  to  glorify  the  preacher,  but  to  magnify  the  grace 
of  God  in  him  and  benefit  each  reader  by  their  perusal. 

A  friend  in  Sydney  writes  as  follows :  — 

"  Dear  Mr.  Spurgeon,  —  It  seems  natural  when  help  is  given 
to  acknowledge  it,  and  I  hope,  therefore,  you  will  not  think  that  I 
am  taking  a  liberty  in  writing  to  thank  you  for  the  great  assistance 
you  have  been  to  me  personally  through  the  medium  of  two  of 
your  published  sermons. 

"  The  two  sermons  I  refer  to  were  entitled  '  Prayer  Perfumed 
with  Praise'  (No.  1469),  and  'Mistrust  of  God  Deplored  and 
Denounced'  (No.  1498).  By  reading  these  I  have  been  led  to 
exercise  faith  in  a  way  never  thought  of  before,  and  as  a  result 
have  experienced  a  confidence  sufficient  to  secure  a  long-desired 


348  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

blessing  of  a  very  practical  kind ;  and  though  the  responsibility- 
attaching  to  such  new  circumstances  is  great,  the  assurance  given 
that  I  shall  be  upheld  according  to  His  Word,  and  not  be  ashamed 
of  my  hope,   is  far  greater. 

"  Allow  me  then,  to  thank  you  on  my  own  behalf,  and  also  on 
the  part  of  another,  for  the  blessing  your  sermons  have  been. 

From  Victoria:  — 

"  My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  often  felt  inclined  to  write  you  these 
last  twelve  years.  At  that  time  I  lost  a  darling  boy ;  everything 
seemed  dark,  and  nothing  brought  me  any  comfort.  The  Word 
of  God,  that  had  been  my  stay  through  many  similar  trials,  was 
all  darkness  to  me.  A  friend  brought  me  one  of  your  sermons, 
and  asked  me  to  allow  her  to  read  it.  At  first  I  refused,  but  at 
last  consented.  I  forget  the  title,  but  it  was  that  everything  was 
ordered  by  God  —  no  chance.  I  felt  all  the  time  my  friend  was 
reading  afraid  to  breathe.  I  could  only  say,  '  Go  on,  go  on.' 
When  she  had  finished  it  I  leaped  from  my  couch  and  said,  '  All 
is  right,  thank  God,  my  dark  mind  is  all  light  again.'  I  have  had 
similar  trials  since,  and  many  other  trials,  but  I  could  say  from 
my  heart,  '  Thy  will  be  done,  it  is  all  right.'  At  this  time  my 
husband  ordered  your  sermons  monthly,  and  we  still  continue  to 
do  so.  Every  Sunday  evening  we  read  one  of  them  aloud  for  all 
to  hear,  and  afterwards  I  send  them  into  '  the  bush.'  My  dear  sir, 
go  on  and  preach  what  you  feel.  It  has  often  been  a  great  com- 
fort to  us  that  you  seemed  to  feel  just  as  we  felt." 

"  The  son  of  red  Kaffirs  or  raw  Kaffirs  "  sends  the  following  note 
from  Port  Elizabeth,  South  Africa:  — 

"  Dear  Sir,  —  I  don't  know  how  to  describe  my  joy  and  my 
feelings  in  this  present  moment.  We  never  did  see  each  other 
face  to  face,  but  still  there  is  something  between  you  and  me 
which  guided  me  to  make  these  few  lines  for  you.  One  day  as  I 
was  going  to  my  daily  work  I  met  a  friend  of  mine  in  the  street. 
We  spoke  about  the  Word  of  God,  and  he  asked  me  whether  I  had 
ever  seen  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  books.  I  said,  'What  Mr. 
Spurgeon  is  that?  One  of  the  Independent  ministers  in  London?' 
and  I  said,  '  No,  I  never  saw  such  a  book  in  my  life.'  He  said  he 
bought  it  from  the  bookseller.     I  asked  the  name  of  the  book. 


LETTERS.  349 

and  he  said  it  was  the  '  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  Pulpit,'  and  I 
went  straight  to  the  shop  and  bought  one.  I  have  read  a  good 
bit  of  it.  On  my  reading  it  I  arrived  on  a  place  where  Job  said : 
'  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him.'  I  am  sure  I  can't 
tell  how  to  describe  the  goodness  you  have  done  to  us,  we  black 
people  of  South  Africa.  We  are  not  black  only  outside,  even 
inside;  I  wouldn't  mind  to  be  a  black  man  only  in  color.  It  is  a 
terrible  thing  to  be  a  black  man  from  the  soul  to  the  skin;  but 
still  I  am  very  glad  to  say  your  sermons  have  done  something 
good  to  me.  May  the  Lord  bless  your  efforts  and  prosper  your 
work!  May  it  please  Him  to  gain  many  sons  into  His  glory 
through  you  as  His  instrument,  not  only  in  London,  but  also  in 
Africa !  " 

From  Denmark :  "  Through  twelve  of  your  sermons,  which  are 
translated  into  Danish,  I  and  my  household  have  this  winter  been 
acquainted  with  your  Christian  announcement,  and  we  thank  you 
for  every  clearing  and  edifying  word.  We  seceded  from  the  Estab- 
lished Church  a  year  ago,  because  we  have  so  evidently  seen  the 
tragical  consequences  of  the  connection  between  the  Church  and 
the  State,  and  we  could  not  possibly  act  contrary  to  the  convic- 
tion forced  upon  us  by  the  reading  of  the  New  Testament,  viz., 
the  incorrectness  of  the  infant  baptism." 

Two  missionaries  in  one  of  the  isles  of  Greece  write :  "  We 
read  every  Sunday  a  sermon ;  many  times  it  is  one  of  your 
sermons.  Last  Sunday  the  one  we  read  was  '  The  Good  Sama- 
ritan'  (No.  1360).  It  made  a  deep  impression  on  our  minds. 
Your  sermons  are  to  us  like  rain  upon  a  dry  land.  We  have  no 
church  to  attend,  and  no  friends  to  associate  with." 

A  Baptist  minister  in  North  America  writes  :  "  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
writings  have  done  more  for  me  than  the  writings  of  any  other 
uninspired  man.  Indeed,  his  influence  is  felt  the  wide  world  over. 
In  the  backwoods  of  this  island  a  dying  man  the  other  week  con- 
fessed that  his  soul  had  been  impressed  and  enlightened  by  a 
sermon  published  in  the  '  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  Pulpit ;  '  while 
Baptists  out  here  speak  of '  praying  for  Mr.  Spurgeon '  as  a  special 
duty.  I  have  also  discovered  that  preachers  of  other  denomma- 
tions  are   using  these  sermons,  from  introduction  to  conclusion, 


350  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

and  after  the  service  it  is  somewhat  amusing  to  find  the  volume 
under  the  seat  of  the  sleigh." 

The  following  touching  epistle  comes  from  Florida:  — 

"My  dear  Brother  in  Christ,  —  Once  upon  a  time  a 
wealthy  man,  who  owned  many  gardens,  sent  one  of  his  gardeners 
to  water  the  plants.  The  gardener  went  and  adjusted  the  hose, 
turned  the  tap,  and  watered  them  far  and  near.  Many  of  them 
were  near  him,  but  far  away  in  a  corner  of  the  garden,  farthest 
from  the  gardener,  was  a  frail  flower  that  had  long  been  pining 
for  the  refreshing  showers.  The  gardener,  not  knowing  its  need, 
nevertheless  turned  the  hose  in  that  direction,  and  the  drooping 
plant  revived  and  bloomed  afresh,  to  delight  all  who  chanced  to 
come  near  it,  and  it  loved  the  master  and  the  instrumejit,  though 
the  latter  was  unknown. 

"  Several  weeks  ago  I  lay  ill,  far  away  from  London,  in  the  wilds 
of  Florida.  Weak  and  faint-hearted,  I  lay  pondering  on  the  strange 
providence  of  the  Master,  when  one  of  your  sermons  was  placed 
in  my  hands.  The  refreshing  shower  revived  me  and  gave  me 
fresh  hope  and  courage,  and  I  rose  from  my  sick  couch  to  strive 
still  more  earnestly  to  gain  access  to  the  hearts  of  those  by  whom 
I  am  surrounded,  and  to-day,  in  a  small  class  that  I  have  formed 
out  here  in  the  wilderness,  the  Lord  made  His  presence  felt,  and 
blessed  us  with  an  awakening  that  I  have  never  seen  here  before, 
and  tears  of  repentance  were  shed  by  many.  I  was  so  full  of 
joy  and  gratitude  to  God  that  I  felt,  indeed  I  longed,  to  let  you 
know  that  your  influence  as  an  instrument  had  even  reached  this 
place." 

From  Michigan :  "  I  have  read  your  sermons  many  years, 
they  are  marrow  and  fatness  to  my  soul.  Toil  on,  O  servant  of 
Jesus  !  You  gave  me  a  pretty  good  lesson  in  your  sermon  entitled 
'The  Dromedaries'  (No.  1504).  I  enclose  you  twenty-five  dollars 
to  buy  'straw'  for  your  dromedaries ;  I  leave  the  word  'barley'  for 
such  persons  as  the  lady  who  gave  ;^20,ooo.  I  have  just  been 
reading  '  John  Ploughman's  Talk.'  I  think  you  are  pretty  tough 
on  us  slow  folks ;  but  if  we  all  could  keep  up  with  you,  don't  you 
think  the  world  would  run  off  her  track  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours?  " 


LETTERS.  351 

From  Quebec :  — 

"  My  dear  Sir,  —  Since  reading  a  sermon  delivered  by  you  a 
long  time  ago  on  the  text,  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved'  (No.  293),  and  in  which  you  set  forth  the 
great  sin  of  unbelief,  I  have  felt  a  strong  desire  to  write  to  you  and 
strengthen  your  hands  by  letting  you  know  that  your  labor  is  not 
in  vain,  as  I,  for  one,  can  testify  to  the  great  good  derived  from 
that  and  other  sermons  of  yours.  My  father,  before  we  left  Scot- 
land, seven  years  ago,  always  got  your  sermons,  as  well  as  your 
'  Sword  and  Trowel,'  and  having  derived  great  benefit  from  them, 
he  carefully  put  them  away.  About  a  year  ago  my  brother  sent 
me  a  few  of  those  old  sermons,  which  I  read,  and,  glory  be  to  God  ! 
opened  my  eyes  while  reading  that  sermon,  and  since  then  I  have 
found  peace  in  believing." 

One  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  elders  sent  him  the  following  letter:  — 

"  My  dear  Sir,  —  At  a  meeting  last  night  I  heard  the  following 
statement,  which  I  think  you  will  be  pleased  with  :  A  member  of 
one  of  our  London  churches  said  that,  being  an  engineer,  he  had 
to  reside  for  some  little  time  in  a  foreign  town,  the  name  of  which 
I  did  not  catch,  where  he  was  entirely  surrounded  by  Portuguese. 
He  said  it  was  very  sweet  to  meet  an  Englishman  anywhere  under 
such  circumstances  to  converse  in  his  native  tongue.  He  heard 
that  there  was  an  Englishman  confined  for  life  in  the  prison,  and 
he  determined  to  call  on  him  and  speak  to  him  respecting  the 
love  of  God  to  sinners.  He  got  permission  to  see  him,  and  having 
entered  the  prison,  commenced  at  once  speaking  to  him  through 
the  iron  grating.  The  poor  convict  then  told  him  that,  a  few  years 
before  that,  a  young  Englishman  called  upon  him  in  a  similar 
manner  and  left  behind  some  English  novels,  but  between  the 
leaves  of  one  of  the  novels  there  was  a  sermon  which  had  been 
preached  in  Exeter  Hall,  in  1856,  by  C.  H.  Spurgeon.  The  con- 
vict read  it.  It  was  upon  'Salvation  to  the  Uttermost'  (No.  84), 
and  it  referred  to  the  murderer  Palmer,  then  under  sentence  of 
death.  The  words  entered  into  his  heart,  and  he  immediately 
knelt  down  in  his  cell  and  cried  for  pardon,  and  he  received  a 
sense  of  forgiveness  on  the  spot,  and  he  was  still  rejoicing  in  the 
assurance  that  God  for  Christ's  sake  had  forgiven  him.     He  told 


352  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

Mr.  B.  that  he  had  no  hope  of  hberty  in  this  hfe,  but  he  was 
nevertheless  rejoicing  in  the  glorious  hope  set  before  him  in  the 
gospel." 

The  following  letter  refers  to  the  fifteen-hundredth  published 
sermon,  "Number  1500;  or,  Lifting  up  the  Brazen  Serpent," 
preached  in  October,  1881  :  — 

"Dear  Sir, — Yesterday  morning  my  brother  passed  from  us 
at  daybreak.  Though  unknown  to  you,  I  think  you  will  like  to 
hear  something  he  said.  On  Tuesday  evening  I  asked  him, 
•What  can  I  do  to  be  as  happy  as  you? '  He  answered  with  diffi- 
culty, 'It's  all  in  "Instant  Salvation"  and  Number  1500.'  Many 
times  he  has  talked  of  Number  1500,  and  has  directed  me  to  send 
one  to  his  brother.  A  member  of  your  congregation  sent  me 
Number  1500  in  a  letter  to  him,  a  sort  of  sly  way,  perhaps,  of 
giving  it  to  him.  A  passer-by  on  St.  Leonard's  Parade  gave  him 
•  Instant  Salvation.'  Sir,  my  brother's  words  were,  '  Only  Jesus, 
nothing  but  Jesus ;  Jesus !  Jesus !  '  and  he  passed  away  without 
suffering,  perfectly  easy,  pleasant,  contented,  joyous,  and  trium- 
phant, and  fully  conscious  up  to  five  minutes  from  his  death,  so 
gently  that  I,  a  medical  man,  cannot  say  when  he  died  —  not  the 
slightest  struggle,  only  a  gradually  increasing  stillness.  Sir,  if  this 
letter  be  like  a  '  well  done '  from  the  Lord  through  the  voice  of  my 
brother  to  you,  I  am  glad,  as  it  will  give  you  pleasure.  Don't 
trouble  to  answer,  I  am  not  a  Baptist,  but  a  Church  of  England 
man." 

The  following  cheering  note  comes  from  the  United  States:  "  It 
will  refresh  your  heart  to  learn  that  a  beloved  pastor  in  this  coun- 
try (whose  teaching  and  preaching  are  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
vapid  utterances  of  the  humanitarians  and  sentimentalists  who 
abound  in  all  our  cities)  received  through  your  ministry  some 
years  ago  a  very  great  blessing.  He  visited  England,  and  planned 
to  hear  all  the  men  of  note  in  London.  On  his  arrival  he  hap- 
pened to  learn  that  you  were  to  speak  one  afternoon  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  hotel.  That  sermon  did  him  so  much  good 
that  he  followed  you  around,  and  during  his  six  weeks  in  London 
heard  no  other  preacher.  Your  vindication  of  God's  grace  and 
advocacy  of  His  sovereignty  in  salvation,  and  your  clear  presenta- 


LETTERS.  353 

tion  of  faith  and  assurance  so  filled  him  and  confirmed  his  own 
views  of  divine  truth,  that  he  returned  to  his  own  country  strong 
in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  His  might.  He  often  speaks  of 
that  visit,  and  I  have  heard  him  frequently  thank  God  for  your 
ministry.  He  is  truly  a  witness  to  the  sufficiency  of  the  Atone- 
ment, and  a  noble  opposer  of  that  science,  falsely  so  called,  which 
belittles  the  word  of  revelation." 

A  minister  in  St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  sends  the  following:  "By 
your  sermons,  etc.,  you  are  having  a  part  in  the  great  work  of 
spreading  Christ's  kingdom  both  in  St.  Petersburg  and  in  the 
interior.  You  are  well  known  among  the  priests,  who  seem  glad 
to  get  hold  of  your  translated  sermons,  and,  strange  to  say,  I 
know  cases  in  which  the  censor  has  readily  given  consent  for  your 
works  to  be  translated  when  he  has  been  reluctant  respecting 
many." 

Mr.  Spurgeon  adds :  "  Another  friend  in  the  same  city,  who 
distributes  our  sermons,  says  that  he  gave  one  recently  to  an  old 
Russian  pope,  or  priest,  who  called  upon  him  one  Sunday  while 
engaged  at  family  prayer,  and  tried  to  sell  him  some  pork.  He 
says  that  he  will  get  all  the  other  sermons  that  are  translated,  and 
give  them  to  as  many  popes  as  he  can  find  access  to." 

A  Christian  sister  in  India  writes :  "  I  enclose  you  a  note  which 
I  received  from  a  Mussulman  to  whom  I  had  lent  a  book  of  your 
sermons,  and  I  request  your  prayers  on  his  behalf,  that  he  may 
have  grace  given  him  to  profess  Christ  openly,  and  to  come  out 

from  Mahometanism."     Here  is  the  note :    "  My  dear  Miss , 

Your  sermon-book  has,  indeed,  converted  me  to  Christianity.  I 
do  believe  in  Christ  our  Lord,  and  so  long  as  my  belief  in  Him  is 
firmly  rooted,  I  do  not  care  what  I  may  be  called  in  the  outer 
world.     Mr.  Spurgeon  appears  to  be  an  extraordinary  man." 

From  Germany  comes  the  following  unsolicited  testimony  to 
the  value  of  "  The  Treasury  of  David :  "  "I  mailed  one  volume 
of  '  The  Treasury '  to  Dr.  Zoekler,  and  requested  him  to  give  me 
his  opinion  of  it.  Dr.  Zoekler  is  considered  (even  among  German 
pastors)  a  great  bookworm,  and  I  was  a  little  curious  to  see  what 
he  would  say.  He  declared  the  Commentary  to  be  '  a  museum  of 
spiritual  treasures,'  and  thought  the  publication  of  it  would  be  to 

23 


354  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

most  German  theologians  like  the  discovery  of  ancient  Troy  by 
Schliemann.  My  Lutheran  neighbors  beg  me  to  have  the  work 
done,  if  not  for  money,  still  for  the  good  it  would  do,  and  they 
beg  for  the  whole  work.  ,  .  .  There  is  nothing  which  might 
benefit  Germany  more  than  the  publication  of  this  work." 

Pastor  Spurgeon  adds :  "  A  friend  informs  us  that  in  Toulon, 
the  great  seaport  and  naval  arsenal  in  the  southeast  of  France, 
where  there  are  many  artisans  and  multitudes  of  sailors,  a  work 
similar  to  that  of  Mr.  McAU  in  Paris  has  been  commenced  by  M. 
Massis,  a  Protestant  pastor,  assisted  by  his  wife  and  a  missionary. 
Several  rooms  have  been  opened  for  preaching,  and  converts 
gathered  for  worship  and  work.  Recently,  vrhen  both  M.  Massis 
and  his  helper  were  compulsorily  absent  from  the  service,  one  of 
the  converts  undertook  to  lead  the  singing  and  prayer,  but,  being 
unable  to  preach,  he  read  the  French  translation  of  our  sermon, 
'Remember  Lot's  Wife'  (No.  1491),  and  this  was  the  means  of 
the  conversion  of  a  whole  family." 

"Another  friend,  who  conducts  services  in  a  Hampshire  village 
where  a  new  chapel  is  being  built,  tells  us  that  every  Sunday 
evening  for  the  last  four  years  he  has  preached  there,  but  being 
engaged  in  business  all  the  week  he  cannot  give  much  time  to 
study.  He  says  that  he  has,  therefore,  taken  our  sermons  regu- 
larly, got  all  the  marrow  he  could  out  of  them,  copied  out  the 
leading  thoughts,  lived  in  the  subject  all  the  week,  and  then  given 
out  to  the  people  the  honey  he  has  gathered.  He  adds  that  God 
has  blessed  this  system  of  working  to  the  salvation  of  souls  and 
the  edification  of  believers,  and  that  this  way  of  proclaiming  the 
truth  has  also  interested  the  congregation." 

A  fisherman  in  Scotland  sends  the  following  pleasing  account  of 
his  conversion:  "  I  remember  a  colporteur  coming  to  my  mother's 
house,  and  he  asked  me  if  I  would  buy  a  book.  '  Yes,'  says  I,  '  if 
you  have  got  any  ballads,'  that  is,  Scotch  songs.  So  he  says  to 
me :  '  If  you  give  me  a  piece  of  fish  I  will  give  you  something 
that  will  do  you  more  good  than  ballads.'  I  saw  he  desired 
my  good,  so  I  gave  him  half  a  codfish,  and  he  gave  me  one  of 
your  sermons.  The  text  was :  '  Look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye  saved, 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth :   for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else  ' 


LETTERS.  355 

('  Sovereignty  and  Salvation,'  No.  60).  While  reading  that  ser- 
mon the  blessed  Spirit  of  God  enlightened  my  understanding,  and 
I  saw  Jesus  set  before  me  as  my  Saviour.  Blessed  hour !  Happy 
day  !     Jesus  washed  my  sins  away." 

The  secretary  of  the  China  Inland  Mission  writes:  "This  morn- 
ing I  received  from  one  of  our  missionaries  in  China  a  letter, 
from  which  the  following  is  an  extract:  '  I  just  want  to  tell  you 
one  thing,  which  is  the  principal  object  I  had  in  writing  you  this 
time.  In  "  China's  Millions,"  of  December,  I  think  it  is,  you  men- 
tioned at  one  of  the  farewell  meetings  held  on  behalf  of  Messrs. 
Cooper,  Protheroe,  and  Thompson,  that  besides  Cooper  there  was 
another  in  China  (Hunnex,  I  presume)  who  had  been  led  to  offer 
himself  for  the  work  through  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermon,  "The 
Divine  Call  for  Missionaries"  (No.  1351).  It  was  that  "call" 
that  led  me  to  offer  myself  to  the  C.  I.  M. ;  previous  to  that  I 
had  thought  (D.V.)  of  applying  to  the  London  Missionary  Soci- 
ety ;  but  that  call  gave  me  no  rest  nor  peace  of  mind  till  I  had 
applied  to  the  C.  I.  M.,  till  I  had  read  the  "Millions"  sent  down 
for  my  perusal,  till  I  had  again  applied,  fiUed  up  the  form,  and 
gone  to  London.  So  there  are  three  working  in  connection  with 
the  C.  I.  M.  who  were  led  to  give  themselves  for  work  in  China 
through  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermon.'  " 

A  minister  from  Tennessee  recently  bore  the  following  personal 
testimony :  "  Nine  years  ago  I  was  a  wild  young  man,  but  I  was 
converted  through  reading  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons,  and  I 
am  now  the  minister  of  a  large  and  influential  church.  The  Lord's 
name  be  magnified  !  " 

One  of  the  students  recently  received  an  application  for  baptism 
from  a  young  Swiss  lady,  who  gave  this  testimony:  "  My  parents 
were  members  of  the  Protestant  Established  Church  in  Switzer- 
land ;  but  though  I  attended  the  ordinances  and  observed  the 
ceremonies,  I  always  felt  that  I  was  a  hypocrite,  for  I  never  be- 
lieved in  them,  but  desired  something  which  I  could  not  get  in 
the  church.  When  I  came  to  England  I  read  a  sermon  by  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  which  did  me  good.  '  John  Ploughman's  Talk,'  though 
funny,  was  made  a  great  blessing  to  me.  I  then  bought  his 
sermons,  and  read  them,  and  I  am  now  happy  to  say  that  I  am 


3S6  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

trusting  in  Jesus.     When  I  return  home  I   shall  distribute  these 
sermons  which  have  been  so  blessed  to  me." 

Mr.  F,  H.  Newton,  of  the  German  Baptist  Mission,  writes : 
"  I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  several  of  our  German 
churches,  and  especially  of  those  in  Russia.  I  feel  sure  you  will 
be  interested  to  learn  that  your  printed  words  (in  German)  have 
always  free  admission  into  Russia,  which  is  saying  a  great  deal, 
the  only  exception  being  in  the  case  of  your  sermon  on  '  Bap- 
tismal Regeneration'  (No.  573),  which  one  of  our  brethren 
translated  into  Russian  and  submitted  to  the  censor  of  the  press, 
who,  however,  refused  to  sanction  it,  as  he  considered  it  an  attack 
upon  the  Greek  Church.  The  brother  still  hopes  to  be  permitted 
to  print  it." 

From  the  State  of  Virginia  comes  the  following  pleasing  testi- 
mony :  "  Some  years  ago,  when  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  the 
bonds  of  iniquity,  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world,  I 
was  persuaded  by  a  friend  to  read  a  volume  of  your  sermons,  and 
now,  my  dear  sir,  let  me  tell  you  that  if  ever  I  felt  the  love  of  God 
shed  abroad  in  my  heart,  or  knew  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  I  owe 
it  to  the  perusal  of  your  sermons,  and  I  am  sure  you  were  the 
means  and  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  of  my  conversion." 

"  In  recent  numbers  of  '  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel '  several 
instances  have  been  given  of  the  good  effects  of  Spurgeon's  ser- 
mons ;  will  you  allow  the  writer  to  add  one  more  ?  In  one  of 
our  resorts  for  invalids  in  the  Midland  Counties  is  a  man  of  almost 
world-wide  distinction,  but  who  was  better  known  thirty  or  forty 
years  ago  than  he  is  to-day.  His  history  is  brimful  of  interesting 
incidents,  and,  when  written,  will  be  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in 
modern  times.  He  has  seen  eighty-eight  summers,  and  though 
his  natural  force  is  abated  and  his  eyes  somewhat  dimmed,  he 
can,  with  the  aid  of  a  lens,  see  to  read  the  daily  papers,  and  is 
conversant  with  all  the  current  events  in  national  and  social  life. 
He  is  as  sensitive  as  a  barometer  to  any  change  in  the  diplomacy 
of  the  courts  of  Europe,  and  especially  is  this  the  case  with  any- 
thing connected  with  the  tribes  of  Israel  and  their  restoration  to 
their  own  land.  He  has  crossed  the  desert  to  visit  Palestine,  and 
on  his  first  visit  was  accompanied  by  Dr.  Black  (who  spoke  nine- 


LETTERS.  357 

teen  languages),  McCheyne,  and  Bonar.  He  has  been  the  con- 
temporary of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  divines,  physicians, 
and  writers  that  Scotland  has  ever  known.  He  is  now  confined  to 
his  bed,  from  which  he  knows  he  will  never  be  lifted  until  he  is 
carried  to  the  place  of  sepulchre.  Not  a  murmur,  however, 
escapes  his  lips.  He  has  the  piety  of  a  saint  and  the  simplicity 
of  a  child  ;  but  you  can  see  the  old  fire  burn  when  the  founda- 
tion truths  are  assailed  by  men  of  modern  thought.  His  chief 
joy  on  the  Sabbath,  dear  Mr.  Editor,  is  to  hear  one  of  your  ser- 
mons. The  reader  is  a  little  maid;  and  he  avows  that  he  has  the 
best  preacher  and  hears  the  best  sermon  in  the  town.  Need  I  say 
that  our  aged  friend  is  Dr.  Alexander  Keith,  the  author  of  '  The 
Evidence  of  Prophecy'  and  other  valuable  works.  I  am  not 
commissioned  by  the  seer  to  send  you  the  above,  but  I  am 
commissioned  to  give  you  his  grateful  thanks  for  the  rich  feast 
you  give  him.  He,  moreover,  wished  me  to  say  that,  while  spend- 
ing the  winter  at  the  Bridge  of  Allan,  two  or  three  years  ago, 
your  sermons  were  read  by  invalids  in  five  separate  rooms  of  the 
same  establishment  every  Sunday.  Many  prayers  go  up  daily  to 
heaven  for  the  continuance  of  your  health  and  life,  but  not  the 
least  fervent  come  from  the  lips  of  this  dear  old  man." 

A  brother  minister,  who  signs  himself  "  A  Daily  Petitioner  at 
the  Throne  of  Grace  on  your  behalf,"  sends  the  following  note: 
"About  September,  1869,  I  attended  the  Tabernacle  in  company 
with  my  wife  on  a  Thursday  evening.  Your  text  was:  'And  Lot 
.  .  .  pitched  his  tent  toward  Sodom.'  As  I  listened  to  your  earn- 
est appeals,  especially  to  Christians,  my  soul  was  stirred  to  its 
depths,  and  I  could  not  but  bedew  the  seat  in  the  gallery  with 
my  tears.  I  felt  a  new  baptism  of  love  for  souls,  and  returning 
home  we  both  dedicated  ourselves  afresh  to  God,  to  spend  and 
to  be  spent  for  those  who  know  not  the  Saviour.  I  can  truthfully 
say  I  have  a  measure  of  that  power  with  me  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  since  that  memorable  occasion  I  trust  I  have  been  ena- 
bled, both  in  the  open  air  and  in  chapels,  to  win  many  souls  for 
my  Master,  some  of  whom  are  gone  home,  and  others  are  on  the 
journey.     To  Him  be  all  the  praise  !  " 

A  friend  in  Jersey,  in  sending  a  donation  for  the  Girls'  Orphan- 


3S8  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

age,  writes :  "  I  have  been  a  reader  of  your  sermons  these  seven- 
teen years  or  more,  having  had  sent  to  me  monthly  the  Austrahan 
papers  in  which  they  appear  weekly.  God  has  been  graciously 
pleased  to  bless  them  to  the  salvation  of  my  soul.  I  had  almost 
begun  to  think  my  Saviour  had  forgotten  me.  I  knew  I  had  long 
ignored  Him.  I  have  lately  found  out  the  way  to  procure  them  in 
any  number,  and  have  gladly  availed  myself  of  it.  I  think  I  have 
now  near  six  hundred  of  them.  I  lend  them  out  in  books  of  fifty. 
I  prize  them  above  every  other  means  of  grace  save  tJie  Book.  As 
you  so  frequently  want  money  for  the  good  works  in  which  you 
are  always  engaged,  I  thought  you  would  not  despise  my  trifle.  I 
wish  it  were  fifty  times  as  much.  .  .  .  Receive  my  sincere  and 
heartfelt  thanks  for  the  unspeakable  good  your  sermons  have 
afforded  and  still  afford  me." 

A  friend  in  Glasgow,  who  signs  himself  "  Your  Loving  Son  in 
Jesus,"  gives  the  following  particulars  of  blessing  received  from 
one  of  the  sermons :  "  About  two  years  ago  a  sermon  of  yours 
entitled  'The  Search  Warrant'  appeared  in  the  'Christian  Herald.* 
I  had  been  anxious  long  before,  but  the  Wednesday  evening  that 
this  sermon  came  I  went  away  into  the  country  to  read  it.  Oh,  I 
was  in  earnest  that  night !  When  I  was  sure  I  was  alone  I  stood 
and  cried  to  God  in  prayer.  In  this  prayer  I  was  led  to  ask  but 
one  thing,  —  namely,  that  Spurgeon's  sermon  might  be  the  means 
of  saving  my  soul  that  night.  I  opened  the  paper  and  read  it 
with  great  attention.  The  Spirit  was  with  me,  and  when  I  got 
half-way  through  brought  home  to  me  the  words,  '  the  very  sim- 
plicity of  faith  makes  the  difficulty.'  I  had  always  been  searching 
for  some  dark,  mysterious,  hidden  thing.  Back  I  went  to  the 
beginning,  with  a  firm  resolve  to  read  it  simply.  Then  I  saw  how 
one  thing  after  another  was  cast  down,  and  Faith  herself  was  made 
a  standing-ground  on  which  to  place  the  only  thing  that  I  could 
see  left  in  the  whole  sermon,  —  the  beautiful,  glorious,  '  altogether 
lovely '  form  of  our  wounded  Emmanuel.  Christ  was  everywhere, 
and  even  myself  had  vanished,  for  I  was  a  new  creature.  .  .  . 
Thank  God  for  a  Spurgeon  to  preach  '  The  Search  Warrant !  " 

A  friend  writes  from  Manchester  to  tell  us  that  her  father,  who 
has  been  a  great  drunkard  for  many  years,  has  become  a  believer 


LETTERS,  359 

in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  has  recently  joined  a  Christian  church.     She 
says :   "  It  is  all  through  reading  your  '  Seven  Wonders  of  Grace.'  " 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  one  of  the  mission- 
aries of  the  China  Inland  Mission:  "We  stayed  over  the  Sabbath 
at  Ts6ng-k6-bu.  ...  In  the  evening,  after  reading  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
sermon  on  'The  Hiding  of  Moses  by  Faith'  (No.  1421),  I  gave 
the  substance  of  it  in  Chinese  to  our  native  pastor  and  the  preacher 
at  the  above  place,  and  then  with  deep-felt  earnestness  I  prayed 
God  to  spare  dear  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  the  Church  of  Christ  and  to 
the  world  for  many  years  to  come.  The  Chinese  cannot  pro- 
nounce '  Spurgeon  '  correctly,  so  we  call  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  this 
quarter  '  Sze  Pah-jing,'  —  that  is,  'The  Successor  or  Continuator 
of  a  Hundred  Virtues.'  The  word  '  hundred,'  in  Chinese,  stands 
for  an  indefinite  number." 

From  Natal  comes  a  cheering  letter,  which  contains  the  follow- 
ing references  to  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons:  "  In  i860  I  emigrated 
to  South  Africa,  and  on  board  the  ship  '  John  Masterman '  I  re- 
ceived the  first  of  your  sermons  I  ever  saw,  and  during  our  voyage 
they  were  read  every  Sabbath  for  divine  service  for  the  Presby- 
terian part  of  the  passengers.  I  so  loved  your  sermons  that  if 
I  only  got  a  spare  leaf  of  one  I  treasured  it  and  put  it  away.  .  .  . 
I  have  a  wife  and  eight  children.  I  live  on  a  small  farm  twelve 
miles  away  from  my  place  of  worship,  and  I  have  established  a 
school  on  the  farm,  and  with  my  own  family,  the  schoolmaster, 
and  some  of  the  children,  we  muster  a  small  band  of  from  fifteen 
to  twenty-two  on  the  Lord's-day  evening  to  read  one  of  your  loved 
and  highly  appreciated  sermons ;  and  we  seem  to  be  as  familiar 
with  your  name  as  if  we  met  every  Sabbath  at  the  Tabernacle.  I 
write  this  to  let  you  know  that  even  in  this  far-away  place  you 
have  hearers  that  you  knew  not  of.  At  the  same  time  I  take  the 
opportunity  of  sending  you  the  small  sum  of  five  pounds,  which 
you  can  appropriate  wherever  it  is  most  needed." 

The  following  pleasing  note  comes  from  Russia :  "  I  came  to 
this  country  about  twenty-four  years  ago,  and  have  been  about  in 
various  parts  of  the  interior  ever  since.  Beyond  having  one  vol- 
ume of  your  sermons,  I  have  not  been  much  acquainted  with  the 
extent  of  your  progress   until  the   past  year,  during  which  I  have 


360  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    II.    SPURGEON. 

taken  in  '  The  Sword  and  Trowel.'  Through  it  I  have  watched 
you  with  great  interest  and  earnest  prayer,  and  the  first  thing  I  fly 
to  now  on  receiving  a  new  number  is  your  Personal  Notes.  ...  I 
have  a  wife  and  eight  children.  A  few  weeks  ago  I  explained  to 
them  the  meaning  of  the  Orphanage,  and  appealed  to  their  feel- 
ings ;  the  result  was  that  I  was  authorized  to  go  to  their  savings' 
bank  and  take  out  three  roubles  forty  kopecks  as  the  children's 
contribution.  We  have  now  made  up  the  sum  to  fifty-five  roubles, 
which  will  be  forwarded  to  you  from  St.  Petersburg  by  a  cheque. 
The  amount  should  not  be  less  than  five  pounds:  please  accept  it. 
I  am  so  deeply  interested  in  all  your  noble  institutions  that  I 
scarcely  know  how  to  divide  it,  but  I  think  if  you  will  give  one 
pound  to  Mrs.  Spurgeon  for  the  Poor  Ministers'  Clothing  Fund, 
one  pound  to  the  Colportage  Fund,  and  the  balance  to  the 
Orphanage,  we  cannot  do  better." 

A  Methodist  minister  in  Ireland  writes :  "  Many  a  time  these 
few  years  I  have  wondered  whether  you  know  that  you  are 
preaching  in  unnumbered  pulpits  every  Lord's  day,  in  many  cases 
word  for  word  as  reported  in  your  volumes.  You  are  aware,  I 
suppose,  that  the  weekly  sermon  is  read  by  two  thirds  of  the 
Protestants  in  Ulster.  In  some  cases  ten  families  join  in  taking  it, 
and  lend  it  from  one  to  another." 

The  deacons  of  a  church  in  South  Australia,  in  sending  a  dona- 
tion for  the  Girls'  Orphanage,  say:  "We  have  for  years  past  re- 
ceived substantial  help  from  your  printed  sermons.  Christians 
have  been  helped  on  their  way,  and  others  have  through  their 
instrumentality  been  introduced  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  the 
gospel." 

A  sailor  friend,  who  distributes  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  and 
other  works  wherever  his  ship  goes,  writes  from  Jamaica:  "We 
have  given  away  nearly  all  the  books  and  sermons  that  we  had. 
We  are  saving  a  few  for  the  poor  negroes  at  the  other  ports  to 
which  we  are  going.  They  were  so  thankful  for  them  at  the 
Falkland  Islands,  and  enjoyed  reading  them  so  much.  In  one 
house  I  went  in,  I  saw  '  Morning  by  Morning  '  and  '  Evening  by 
Evening ' ;  they  looked  quite  homely  to  me,  as  we  use  them  every 
morning  and  evening  on  board  ship." 


LETl'ERS.  361 

Another  writes :  "  Though  it  may  be  known  to  you  already,  I 
venture  to  mention  one  incident  which  was  brought  to  my  notice. 
The  httle  island  of  Bryher  (one  of  the  Scilly  Isles),  though  it  only 
has  one  hundred  and  twenty  inhabitants,  contains  a  church  and  a 
chapel.  Service  is  held  at  the  church  occasionally,  and  then  the 
chapel  is  closed.  On  other  Sundays  the  service  is  held  at  the  chapel, 
and  the  sexton,  who  is  also  clerk  at  the  church,  reads  one  of  your 
sermons,  and  they  sing  Wesley's  hymns." 

We  subjoin  the  following  letter,  written  to  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  his 
editorial  capacity,  as  another  illustration  of  the  marvellous  influ- 
ence he  is  wielding  ever  all  classes  of  men.  He  is  always  happy 
in  preaching  to  sailors,  and  his  prayers  often  ascend  on  behalf  of 
the  sons  of  the  sea :  — 

Dear  Mr.  Editor,  —  You  have  often  been  called  a  many- 
sided  man :  I  shall  therefore  address  your  editorial  personality, 
and  consider  for  the  moment  that  you  are  not  the  preacher  I  heard 
on  Thursday  evening  last.  I  venture  to  think  the  Metropolitan 
Tabernacle  had  more  sailors  and  sailor  workers  to  this  service 
than  ever  before.  The  good  manager  of  the  Sailors'  Home  sent 
up  two  wagon-loads,  while  Miss  Macpherson's  lady  friends  marched 
at  the  head  of  a  splendid  column  of  hardy,  well-dressed  sailors. 
Very  few  ports  of  the  world  were  unrepresented,  while  captains, 
officers,  and  missionaries  helped  to  fill  the  first  gallery.  Much 
prayer  had  been  offered  and  enthusiasm  awakened  by  Mr.  Spur- 
geon having  promised  to  preach  a  sailors'  sermon.  At  seven  he 
came  down  to  his  quarter-deck  looking  careworn  and  overworked, 
as  though  he  had  been  watching  a  week  in  the  Channel.  But  as 
he  looked  at  his  crew  on  the  starboard  and  port  sides  inspiration 
came,  and  the  buoyancy  of  his  spirit  returned. 

The  intercessory  prayer  for  those  at  sea  and  those  on  shore 
waiting  for  missing  ships,  led  many  hearts  to  the  throne  of  grace. 
As  to  the  sermon,  having  graduated  in  God's  university,  the  sea, 
with  wind  and  wave,  rock  and  sand,  sun  and  star  for  my  profes- 
sors, I  would,  as  a  qualified  judge,  pronounce  it  A  i  at  Lloyds', 
It  was  simply  first-rate,  and  worthy  of  the  great  preacher  and  his 
glorious  theme,  "  The  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it."  I  want,  believ- 
ing that  it  is  calculated  to  bless  the  sailor  and   his  cause  and  to 


362  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

glorify  the  God  of  the  sea,  to  send  it  out  as  a  tidal  wave  of  blessing 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Give  me  fifty  thousand,  and  I  can  supply 
every  lighthouse  and  lightship  on  our  coast,  every  lifeboat  and 
coastguard  station,  every  British  consulate  and  sailors'  mission  in 
the  world,  and  the  great  British  mercantile  marine.  Give  me  a 
hundred  thousand,  and  her  Majesty's  ships  and  the  American 
navy  shall  be  supplied  as  well.  But  fifty  tJiousand  copies  I  must 
have,  and  I  solemnly  ask :  Who  is  going  to  do  this  for  Jesus,  the 
Lord  High  Admiral  of  the  seas?  Some  $i,ooo  would  cover  the 
entire  cost,  and  I  would  undertake  with  our  staff  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Sailors'  Society,  and  associate  societies,  a  proper  dis- 
tribution. Your  readers  are  not  aware  that  in  January  of  this 
year  the  effective  tonnage  of  the  mercantile  navies  of  the  British 
Empire  was  16,000,000,  while  the  rest  of  the  world  only  had  some 
11,500,000.  This  means  that  under  one  flag,  and  that  flag  the 
British,  there  is  now  fifty-eight  per  cent  of  the  shipping  of  the 
whole  world.  Storms  that  hurled  the  Tay  Bridge  into  the  sea 
have  played  havoc  with  our  shipping,  both  sail  and  steam.  In  the 
past  year  (1879),  not  counting  the  exceptionally  disastrous  months 
of  this  year,  no  less  than  1,688  vessels  were  reported  to  have 
been  wrecked,  with  an  estimated  value,  including  cargoes,  of 
$127,500,000! 

But  what  became  of  those  on  board?  About  five  thousand 
perished  !  People  have  no  conception  of  our  ocean  empire. 
Why,  there  are  fifty  thousand  fishing-boats  around  the  coasts  of 
Britain  alone ! 

Is  it,  then,  too  much  to  ask  for  a  hundred  thousand  copies  of 
this  special  sermon?  The  sailors  are  absent,  they  cannot  plead  for 
themselves.  This  is  why  they  are  too  often  forgotten.  It  will 
cheer  Mr.  Spurgeon  if  we  could  thus  serve  the  sailor.  Who  dare 
estimate  the  outcome  of  this  effort  for  the  extension  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom?  Who  will  thus  help  to  make  the  sailors  the 
unpaid  evangelists  of  Christ  to  all  the  nations?  All  hands  lay 
hold  of  this  rope  and  give  us  a  pull;  but  you,  Mr.  Editor,  must 
give  the  command,  or  few  will  obey.         Yours  faithfully, 

Edv^ard  W.  Matthews, 

Secretary,  British  and  Foreign  Sailors'  Society,  Sliadvvell,  London. 


XXVI. 
PERSONAL    NOTES. 


Sometimes  our  experience  is  for  the  good  of  others,  and  sometimes  it  is  for 
our  own  good.  You  cannot  see  the  beauty  of  certain  gems  unless  you  place 
them  on  black  velvet.  When  you  have  something  black  behind,  then  you  see 
their  lustre.  So  there  are  promises  of  God  in  which  you  never  will  discover 
their  very  brightest  meaning  except  they  are  set  against  some  dark  soul-trouble. 
Much  of  faith's  education  may  be  called  black-letter  learning.  Very  black  the 
letters  are,  too,  and  very  ugly  looking,  but  they  must  be  spelt  over.  You  cannot 
see  the  stars  in  the  daytime;  you  mustvvait  till  the  sun  has  gone  down.  —  C.  H, 
Spurgeon. 


PERSONAL    NOTES. 


THE  monthly  "  Notes  "  from  Mr.  Spurgeon's  pen  are  not  the 
least  interesting  feature  of  "  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel." 
These  brief  "  Notes  "  speak  volumes.  They  reveal  the  pastor's 
heart  and  the  preacher's  faith.  They  declare  how  fully  identified 
is  the  workman  with  his  work,  how  ceaselessly  he  watches  over 
every  department  of  labor  originated  by  him.  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
friends  read  the  "  Notes "  with  prayerful,  grateful  hearts ;  his 
more  distant  acquaintances  with  ever-growing  admiration  for  the 
man;  strangers  with  awakened  interest  and  amazement.  The 
"  Notes"  possess  a  pecuhar  freshness  when  first  published;  but  as 
items  of  work  done,  of  labors  directed,  and  of  energies  expended, 
they  are  worthy  of  a  more  permanent  place  than  the  pages  of  a 
monthly  journal. 

The  death  of  President  Garfield  creates  among  Christian 
people  a  feeling  far  deeper  than  that  which  arises  from  the 
decease  of  an  ordinary  ruler.  He  was  a  member  of  a  section  of 
the  Baptist  church,  and  the  representative  of  that  party  in  the 
United  States  which  is  the  friend  of  the  freedman.  His  fall  is  a 
serious  blow  to  those  in  the  States  whose  principles  are  on  the 
side  of  righteousness.  We  believe  that  it  will  be  overruled  for  the 
highest  ends,  but  as  it  stands  his  murder  is  a  great  calamity.  May 
his  widow  find  a  measure  of  consolation  in  the  sympathy  of  all 
civilized  nations,  and  comfort  without  measure  in  the  tender  mercy 
of  her  husband's  God !  England  and  America  have  been  drawn 
together  as  by  a  common  grief;  may  a  feeling  of  concord  thus 
sown  in  tears  be  reaped  in  joy!     Some  hundreds  of  Americans 


366  LIFE  AND    LABORS    OF   C    H.    SPURGEON. 

are  to  be  found  at  the  Tabernacle  all  through  the  summer,  and 
thus  the  pastor  is  drawn  into  close  fellowship  with  believers  on 
the  other  side  of  the  ocean. 

We  have  lately  felt  more  than  ever  the  burden  of  souls,  and  a 
strong  desire  for  a  special  visitation  of  grace  to  our  churches. 
Our  heart  wanted  vent.  Hence  we  begged  those  of  our  friends 
who  could  spare  the  time  to  come  together  an  hour  before  the 
week-night  services  to  pray  for  a  blessing.  Before  the  lecture  on 
Thursday  we  have  had  some  of  the  most  real  and  intense  prayer 
that  we  have  ever  known.  Perhaps  some  brother  minister  may 
take  the  hint,  and  see  whether  his  people  would  not  assemble  with 
much  enthusiasm  to  pray  for  a  blessing  upon  their  pastor  and  the 
service  about  to  be  held.  Where  regular  prayer-meetings  flag, 
it  is  well  to  hold  others  at  different  hours.  Better  get  the  people 
together  at  dead  of  night,  than  let  them  fall  into  a  dead  condition. 

In  answer  to  many  inquiries,  we  are  glad  to  speak  of  improved 
health.  No  summer  holiday  will  be  taken,  for  the  many  Sundays 
spent  in  the  sick-room  forbid  any  further  absence  from  home. 
Neither  can  we  travel  far  afield,  for  home  work  is  so  pressing. 
What  with  managing  everything,  preparing  the  weekly  sermon, 
editing  the  magazine,  and  writing  books,  we  are  not  doing  badly 
when  we  fill  up  our  weeks  as  we  do.  Here  is  a  specimen  week  in 
which  we  did  no  more  than  ordinarily,  but  a  little  more  than  usual 
was  visible  to  the  common  observer.  Five  sermons,  three  prayer- 
meetings,  chair  at  t\\'0  public  meetings,  speech  at  a  third,  one 
communion,  one  College  afternoon  of  two  hours'  lecturing.  Some 
of  these  occupied  far  more  time  in  preparation  than  in  the  actual 
doing  of  them.  We  are  thankful  to  be  able  to  work.  Oh,  that 
we  could  accomplish  far  more  !  We  need  the  prayers  of  all  loving 
friends  that  God  would  give  us  more  of  His  divine  blessing.  What 
is  all  that  we  can  do  without  His  Spirit? 

We  rejoice  to  hear  that  our  sermon  on  "  The  Divine  Call  for 
Missionaries  "  (No.  1351)  has  been  the  means  of  leading  another 
young  man,  besides  the  one  mentioned  in  our  "  Notes  "  for  June, 
to  consecrate  himself  to  the  work  of  foreign  missions.  Mr.  Broom- 
hall,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  sends  us  the  following  extract 
from  the  papers  of  an  accepted  candidate:   "  What  is  your  motive 


Present  Home  ok  Pastor  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


PERSONAL  NOTES.  367 

for  wishing  to  become  a  missionary?"  "The  glory  of  God  in 
the  salvation  of  the  heathen."  "  What  has  led  you  to  think  of 
doing  so?"  "A  sermon  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  on  'The  Divine  Call 
for  Missionaries.'  " 

One  of  the  bandsmen  of  the  Seventy-third  Regiment  writes  from 
India  to  say  that  he  receives  our  sermon  every  week  by  post,  and 
that  on  a  Sunday  evening  the  soldiers  will  read  "  Spurgeon's  Ser- 
mons "  when  they  will  read  nothing  else  of  a  religious  character. 
He  states  that  after  a  sermon  has  gone  the  round  of  fifty  or  sixty 
men  it  is  returned  to  him  all  black  and  fringed  through  the  wear 
and  tear. 

Dr.  Carson,  of  Coleraine,  says  concerning  the  sermons :  "  In 
my  professional  calling  I  have  had  abundant  opportunity  of  know- 
ing the  good  they  do.  Space  would  not  allow  me  to  dwell  on 
this  point,  but  I  mention  the  instance  of  one  of  my  own  servants 
several  years  since.  When  he  was  waiting  for  me  every  day  at 
the  hospital  gate  I  observed  that  he  sat  down  on  the  step  of  the 
carriage  and  began  to  read.  I  asked  him  what  he  was  reading, 
and  he  said  it  was  a  tract  his  mistress  gave  him,  and  that  it  was 
the  nicest  thing  he  ever  read,  as  he  could  understand  every  word 
of  it,  and  he  wished  that  every  minister  would  preach  like  that.  I 
looked  at  it  and  found  it  was  one  of  Spurgeon's  sermons." 

Mr.  VVilhelm  Haupt,  missionary  to  the  Edinburgh  Ladies'  Aux- 
iliary to  the  German  Baptist  Mission,  in  his  last  quarterly  report, 
writes  as  follows:  "My  own  son  Willy,  now  seventeen  years  of 
age,  came  from  Barmen,  where  he  is  at  school,  to  spend  his  Easter 
holidays  with  us.  Shortly  before,  I  had  received  some  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's sermons  from  Dr.  B.,  amongst  which  was  one  entitled  'The 
Seven  Sneezes'  (No.  1461),  from  the  text,  2  Kings  iv.  35,  'And 
the  child  sneezed  seven  times.'  Having  read  this  sermon,  and 
believing  that  it  was  well  suited  to  his  case,  I  asked  my  boy  to 
translate  it  into  German  for  me.  During  the  work  of  translation 
I  could  plainly  see  that  what  I  had  hoped  was  taking  place,  —  the 
Lord  was  touching  his  heart  and  showing  him  his  position.  When 
he  had  finished  the  translation  I  asked  him  whether  he  too  felt  any 
signs  of  life,  and  he  acknowledged  he  desired  from  his  whole  heart 
to  become  a  Christian.     He  has  not  yet  full  assurance  of  faith,  but 


368  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  Lord  has  begun  His  work  of  grace,  and  I  have  every  reason 
to  believe  He  will  complete  it.  I  am  very  grateful  for  the  gift 
of  these  splendid  sermons,  from  which  I  have  derived  much 
blessing." 

A  Scotch  friend,  in  sending  us  a  contribution  for  one  of  our 
works,  explains  that  it  is  a  thank-offering  for  the  enjoyment  and 
profit  derived  by  him  and  his  late  wife  from  reading  our  sermons. 
He  tells  us  that  he  is  so  deaf  that  he  cannot  hear  his  own  minis- 
ter's voice  in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  and  his  wife  was  too  ill 
to  go  to  church  for  two  years  before  she  died,  so  they  were  both 
very  grateful  to  get  every  Saturday  the  sermon  which  supplied 
them  with  spiritual  food  for  the  Lord's  day.  The  writer  further 
says :  "  Since  my  wife's  death  I  have,  after  reading  your  sermon, 
given  it  to  a  friend,  whose  wife  is  also  in  very  weak  health,  and 
has  not  been  able  to  go  to  church  for  nearly  two  years.  They 
enjoy  the  sermon  very  much,  and  after  reading  it  pass  it  on  to  a 
neighbor,  who  also  enjoys  it.  I  think  you  might  take  occasion  to 
drop  the  hint  that  each  reader  might  seek  out  some  invalid  person 
who  is  not  able  to  go  to  church  and  make  a  present  of  the  sermon, 
instead  of  allowing  it  to  lie  idle  on  the  shelf  The  sick  friend 
above  mentioned  was  visited  by  the  late  Rev.  James  Robertson  a 
few  days  before  his  decease.  She  told  him  that  her  own  minister 
called  to  see  her  so  seldom  that  she  might  now  say  that  she  had 
no  church  connection;  but  she  greatly  enjoyed  the  reading  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons.  'Oh,  then,'  replied  Mr.  Robertson,  'you 
will  just  consider  you  are  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  people.'  " 

One  of  our  church-members,  in  thanking  us  for  our  recent  ser- 
mon on  Psalm  Ivii.  4,   "My  soul  is  among  lions,"  writes:   "You 

may  be  sure  when  I  had  the  beer-house  in that  my  soul  was 

among  lions.  You  may  not  remember  that  your  preaching  was 
the  means  of  my  closing  that  house  on  the  Sunday  in  spite  of 
great  opposition,  persecution,  and  personal  loss.  I  kept  it  closed 
on  the  Sunday  with  one  exception,  when  the  devil  tempted  me  to 
open  it,  but  Christ  gained  the  victory,  and  enabled  me  to  close 
ever  afterwards  on  the  Sunday.  I  closed  on  the  same  Sunday  as 
you  opened  the  Tabernacle.  If  every  minister  could  be  the  means 
of  closing  one  public-house  on  the  Sunday  the  victory  would  be 


PERSONAL  NOTES.  369 

won.     The  sermon  on  Zechariah  xiv.  20  ('  A  Peal  of  Bells,'  No. 
399)  decided  me  to  join  the  church." 

A  brother  Baptist  minister,  in  sending  us  a  contribution  for  the 
Girls'  Orphanage,  says :  "  During  nearly  twenty  years'  ministry  I 
have  been  often  helped  and  encouraged  by  your  sermons,  which 
I  regularly  read  and  lend  to  others.  May  the  Lord  long  spare  you 
to  His  Church  !  " 

We  were  amused  when  we  were  informed  of  a  notice  that  re- 
cently appeared  in  a  shop  window  in  Newcastle.  Underneath  a 
lithographic  likeness,  or  what  professed  to  be  such,  was  the  an- 
nouncement, "  Spurgeon  reduced  to  Sixpence  !  "  The  kind  friend 
who  sent  us  the  intelligence  expressed  the  hope  that  we  were  not 
quite  so  poor  as  the  notice  implied. 

In  the  first  spare  corner  of  the  magazine  let  it  stand  recorded 
as  my  experience  that  the  Lord  is  exceeding  tender  in  His  deal- 
ings with  His  afflicted.  During  the  last  six  months  He  has  tried 
me  with  sharp  pains,  but  during  that  period  He  has  kindly  re- 
moved all  cause  for  serious  care  as  to  the  financial  needs  of  my 
many  institutions.  Everything  has  been  healthily  sustained,  and 
there  have  been  no  pitiful  appeals  by  striking  advertisement  or 
otherwise.  I  intend  no  censure  of  the  plans  of  others,  but  I 
cannot  help  admiring  the  considerate  providence  of  our  gracious 
Lord  that  He  has  kept  off  the  trial  of  straitened  supplies  from 
His  suffering  servant.  "  He  stayeth  His  rough  wind  in  the  day 
of  the  east  wind." 

Friends  have  come  forth  from  the  most  unexpected  quarters 
in  the  time  of  need,  —  nay  before  the  need  had  actually  come. 
Every  fund,  except  that  which  supplies  the  College,  is  in  better 
condition  than  before  my  illness,  and  even  that  is  hardly  an  ex- 
ception, for  the  outgoing  in  that  direction  will  no  doubt  be 
made  good  at  the  annual  supper.  Prayerful  trust  is  a  way 
which  the  Lord  will  assuredly  honor.  I  do  but  feebly  trust  and 
pray,  but  God  most  richly  answers ;  and  when  in  hours  of  crush- 
ing agony  both  supplication  and  confidence  seem  to  need  an 
effort  beyond  the  strength  of  the  tortured  mind,  the  Lord  deals 
with  me  after  His  own  gracious  fashion,  "exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  that  we  ask,  or  even  think." 

24 


370  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    li.    SPURGEON. 

On  Monday,  September  29,  we  expect  to  say  good-bye  to  our 
son  Thomas  and  the  two  ministers  who  are  going  with  him  to 
Australia,  Mr.  R.  McCulloch,  from  the  College,  and  Mr.  J.  S. 
Harrison,  who  left  the  College  a  few  months  ago  and  settled  at 
Blackburn.  Mr.  Gibson,  a  generous  Christian  gentleman  of  Tas- 
mania, pays  the  passage  of  these  two  brethren,  that  they  may 
labor  in  that  island.  It  is  a  severe  trial  thus  to  be  separated 
from  a  loving  and  beloved  son,  but  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done. 
We  commend  our  son  again  to  the  loving  care  of  those  Aus- 
tralian friends  who  so  generously  received  him  on  his  first  visit. 
He  will  need  rest,  but  after  a  while  we  trust  he  will  resume  his 
preaching,  go  through  the  Australian  colonies,  visit  New  Zealand, 
and  then  settle  down  somewhere  in  the  southern  world.  Such 
is  the  programme  which  our  imagination  has  mapped  out;  but 
how  little  we  know  of  the  future !  His  parents  surrender  him  to 
the  Lord's  work  abroad,  hoping  one  day  again  to  see  him  in  the 
flesh,  and  firmly  believing  that  he  will  do  good  service  for  the 
Lord  in  the  colonies.  Beloved  by  the  church  at  the  Tabernacle 
and  by  all  at  home,  we  fondly  hoped  that  our  son  would  have 
had  a  useful  career  in  England ;  but  Infinite  Wisdom  cannot  err. 

Mr.  Broomhall,  who  is  conducting  the  home  aff"airs  of  Mr. 
Hudson  Taylor's  mission,  brought  us  the  other  day  a  copy  of 
our  sermon  on  "The  Divine  Call  for  Missionaries,"  No.  135 1. 
It  was  scored  and  underlined,  and  had  been  carried  about  in  his 
pocket  by  a  brother  who  is  now  a  missionary ;  the  sermon  hav- 
ing constrained  him  to  devote  himself  to  that  work  for  the  Lord. 
We  prized  the  discourse  more  than  if  the  princes  of  the  land 
had  covered  it  with  jewels.     To  God  be  all  the  glory! 

A  nobleman  of  Alsace  visited  us  at  Mentone,  and  gave  us 
copies  of  two  of  our  sermons,  which  he  has  translated  into  French, 
and  lithographed  in  running  hand,  to  be  read  in  congregations. 
We  found  our  friend  almost  as  well  acquainted  with  our  work 
as  if  he  had  attended  the  Tabernacle  all  his  life.  He  came  a 
long  way  for  a  short  interview,  bringing  his  wife  and  his  son, 
and  by  this  visit  he  greatly  refreshed  our  spirit. 

A  minister,  living  at  Wisbech,  authenticates  the  following  sin- 
gular case  of  conversion   through  our   sermon  on  "  The  Portion 


PERSONAL   NOTES.  371 

of  the  Ungodly,"  No.  444.  The  writer  says  in  a  recent  letter  to 
us:  "Seventeen  years  ago  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  permit  me  to 
dream  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  come,  and  in  my  dream  I 
saw  the  saints  rising  with  the  Lord  Jesus  to  glory.  I  was  left, 
and  near  me,  upon  a  large  quantity  of  stubble,  stood  an  acquaint- 
ance, who  addressed  me  thus :  '  They  used  to  say  in  the  other 
world  that  we  should  be  in  fire,  but  it  is  not  so.'  In  a  moment 
flames  burst  out,  and  in  my  fright  I  awoke.  A  few  days  after 
my  dream  my  friend  and  I  heard  you  preach  at  the  Tabernacle. 
Judge  how  great  was  our  surprise  when  you  announced  for  your 
text,  Isaiah  xlvii.  14,  'Behold,  they  shall  be  as  stubble;  the  fire 
shall  burn  them ;  they  shall  not  deliver  themselves  from  the  power 
of  the  flame :  there  shall  not  be  a  coal  to  warm  at,  nor  fire  to 
sit  before  it.'  "  In  August,  1876,  a  severe  affliction,  the  dream,  and 
our  sermon  resulted  in  our  friend's  conversion. 

One  of  our  students  writes  to  tell  us  about  the  conversion 
of  one  whom  he  has  recently  baptized,  who  thus  refers  to  the 
channel  through  which  the  blessing  reached  her:  "Before  I  was 
brought  to  Christ  I  had  a  desire  to  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon ;  accord- 
ingly, I  went  to  Exeter  Hall,  and  afterwards  to  the  Tabernacle, 
but  still  remained  in  my  state  of  unregeneracy.  One  day  I  was 
entering  the  drawing-room,  and,  looking  upon  the  table,  my  eye 
fell  at  once  upon  a  printed  sermon.  Taking  it  into  my  hand,  I 
read  the  text.  Psalm  li.  4.  I  read  a  little  of  the  sermon,  was  in- 
terested, and  read  on  until  I  was  not  only  interested  in  it,  but 
in  Christ:  this  was  the  means  of  my  conversion."  It  was  our 
sermon,  No.  86,  on  "  Unimpeachable  Justice." 

A  Christian  sea-captain  writes  to  tell  us  about  the  joyful  recep- 
tion of  our  sermons  at  St.  Kitts,  one  of  the  West  Indian  islands. 
He  says,  "  All  my  sermons  that  I  had  in  the  monthly  parts  I 
separated,  for  the  people  were  so  eager  for  them  they  came  from 
every  quarter  to  ask  for  them.  We  gave  some  to  the  master  of 
a  little  vessel  that  trades  to  different  islands,  and  we  saw  several 
of  the  laboring  men  gather  round  him  as  he  read  the  sermons  to 
them.  The  natives  seemed  to  drink  their  contents  down  with  as 
much  pleasure  as  a  thirsty  ox  does  water  on  a  summer's  day." 
The  mate  of  our  friend's  vessel  went  down  among  the  very  poor 


372  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

who  do  not  go  anywhere,  and  had  two  meetings  among  them, 
which  the  people  very  much  enjoyed.  They  wanted  another 
visit,  but  before  the  next  Sabbath  the  vessel  had  sailed. 

In  "The  Preachers'  Annual"  of  1877,  page  544,  in  an  article  by 
the  Rev.  G.  T.  Dowling  on  "  Candidating,"  we  chanced  to  read  as 
follows:  "Charles  Spurgeon  was  not  even  seriously  thought  of 
as  a  prospective  pastor  the  first  time  he  preached  in  London. 
Months  passed  by  before  he  was  again  invited  to  spend  a  Sabbath, 
and  when  even  a  call  was  extended  it  was  by  no  means  unani- 
mous. Some  families  even  left  the  church  because  *  that  boy '  was 
called." 

This  is  given  as  a  proof  that  successful  preachers  frequently 
produce  a  poor  impression  as  candidates.  This  may  be  a  general 
fact,  but  it  was  a  pity  to  fabricate  an  instance.  The  truth  is  exactly 
the  contrary.  The  moment  after  our  first  sermon  was  preached 
we  were  invited  by  the  principal  deacon  to  supply  for  six  months, 
for  he  felt  sure  that  at  a  church  meeting,  which  would  at  once  be 
held,  such  a  resolution  would  be  passed.  We  declined  his  offer,  for 
we  thought  it  too  hasty,  but  promised  to  preach  alternate  Sabbaths 
during  the  next  month ;  and  this  was  done,  and  followed  up  imme- 
diately by  a  further  invitation.  No  one  person  left  the  church  to 
our  knowledge,  and  the  resolution  inviting  us  was  as  nearly  unani- 
mous as  possible,  one  man  and  four  women  voting  to  the  contrary, 
all  of  these  becoming  in  after  time  most  friendly  to  us.  We  only 
mention  the  incident  as  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  advo- 
cates of  a  theory  too  often  manufacture  their  instances,  and  as  a 
warning  to  our  friends  to  be  slow  in  believing  anything  which  they 
may  hear  or  read  about  public  persons. 

Dr.  Blaikie,  in  a  recent  letter  to  us,  says  of  Dr.  Livingstone :  "  I 
had  in  my  hands  the  other  day  one  of  your  sermons,  very  yellow  : 
it  lay  embedded  in  one  of  his  journals  —  had  probably  been  all 
over  Africa — and  had  in  Livingstone's  neat  hand  the  simple  words, 
'  Ve^y good!  Would  you  like  it?"  Our  reply,  as  the  reader  will 
guess,  was  an  urgent  request  that  we  might  have  the  yellow  relic. 

The  Religious  Tract  Society  kindly  favors  us  with  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  from  a  member  of  the  Servian  Government, 
in  reference  to   our  sermon,   "  Come  and  Welcome,"  which  has 


PERSONAL   NOTES.  3/3 

been  published  in  Servia:  "  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermon,  '  Come  and 
Welcome,'  continues  to  be  much  read  and  appreciated.  The  Dean 
of  Thabatz  writes  to  thank  me  that  I  have  procured  for  Servian 
Christians  such  most  valuable  reading ;  and  also  adds  that  he  has 
never  read  anything  more  edifying  and  more  '  filling  the  soul.'  A 
copy  found  its  way  to  the  State  Prison  of  Posharevatz,  and  I  am 
informed  has  been  there  read  with  much  enjoyment,  even  by  some 
men  who  have  been  pronounced  infidels.  An  old  gentleman  be- 
longing to  the  highest  rank  of  our  society  took  the  opportunity 
of  an  evening  party  in  his  house  to  read  the  whole  sermon  to  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  present.  I  am  mentioning  to  you  all  these 
details,  believing  them  to  be  hopeful  signs  of  coming  harvest,  and 
feeling  myself  happy  and  thankful  to  our  merciful  Father  that 
the  first  seed,  which  by  the  instrumentality  of  your  committee  has 
been  thrown  in  the  earth  of  Servia,  seems  to  bear  with  it  God's 
blessing." 

Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  at  Portsmouth,  October  26.  He  writes: 
One  of  the  papers  seems  to  wonder  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  ner- 
vous !  Who  could  avoid  it  amid  that  dense  throng,  in  a  frail  build- 
ing, with  constant  interruptions?  The  horror  of  great  darkness 
which  passed  over  the  preacher's  soul,  few  can  understand  but 
those  who  have  once  seen  a  multitude  flying  in  panic,  and  people 
trodden  to  death  in  the  crush.  We  should  be  able  to  preach 
abroad  far  oftener  if  we  could  secure  moderate  audiences,  in 
places  full  to  safety,  but  not  crowded  to  murder-point.  However, 
the  occasion  ended  well ;  and  to  God  be  praise !  The  efforts  of 
all  friends  at  Portsmouth  to  entertain  the  Baptist  Union  were  most 
praiseworthy. 

For  an  opportunity  of  preaching,  Southampton,  on  October  27, 
bears  the  palm  ;  for  there  we  had  order  and  quiet  throughout,  and 
we  trust  the  Divine  Presence  was  there.  It  was  a  singular  sieht  to 
see  at  these  services  men  of  all  grades  and  creeds,  and  even  more 
remarkable  to  observe  with  what  kindliness  they  received  the 
preacher  of  the  Word.  Surely  there  is  some  softening  process 
at  work,  some  coming  together  of  divergent  creeds,  some  candor 
towards  long-despised  truth.  In  the  house  of  Canon  Wilberforce. 
in   concert  with   Lord   Radstock  and   other  friends,  we  had   much 


374  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

friendly  discussion,  but  far  more  spiritual  communion  both  in 
conversation  and  prayer.  The  hfe  of  God  in  the  souls  of  believers 
triumphs  over  even  important  differences  of  ceremonial  and  doc- 
trine. In  honestly  dealing  with  each  other  in  the  spirit  of  love 
to  Christ  we  shall,  by  the  Holy  Ghost's  guidance,  find  the  way 
to  mutual  edification  and  enlightenment,  and  so  to  real  unity. 
If  congresses,  and  conferences,  and  meetings,  by  bringing  Chris- 
tians together,  shall  continue  to  increase  their  knowledge  of  each 
other,  and  their  common  regard  for  one  another,  they  will  do 
more  towards  the  unity  of  Christendom  than  all  the  plans  and 
societies  which  have  this  for  their  design,  but  know  not  how  to 
compass  it. 

Altogether,  Southampton  friends  deserve  the  highest  commen- 
dation. We  were  delighted  to  find  three  of  our  College  men  at 
Southampton  and  two  at  Portsmouth,  all  favored  with  the  divine 
blessing,  and  heartily  working  together  to  give  entertainment  to 
the  denomination  which  met  in  such  force  in  the  two  towns. 
Others  of  our  own  men  were  to  the  front,  holding  their  own  among 
the  best  of  their  brethren.  We  are  greatly  rejoiced  when  we  see 
a  man  raised  up  in  the  ranks  of  the  Church  to  serve  the  Lord 
valiantly,  and  there  is  just  a  drop  of  special  zest  to  our  joy  when 
it  happens  to  be  one  of  the  sons  of  the  Pastors'  College. 

On  Friday  evening,  October  21,  the  eleventh  annual  meeting  of 
the  Green  Walk  Mission,  conducted  by  Mr.  William  Olney,  Jr.,  was 
held  in  the  Tabernacle  Lecture  Hall,  when  there  was  a  large  at- 
tendance of  the  workers  and  friends  of  the  mission.  Pastor  C.  H. 
Spurgeon  presided.  Mr.  Bennett  read  the  report,  which  com- 
menced with  a  grateful  reference  to  the  spirit  of  prayer  which  had 
prevailed  among  the  workers,  and  a  recognition  of  the  Lord's 
loving  care  of  them  at  the  time  when  the  tempest  blew  down  the 
tent  in  August  last.  It  then  proceeded  to  specify  the  various 
special  and  ordinary  means  which  had  been  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  the  people  of  Bermondsey  to  the  feet  of  Jesus. 
These  include  Sunday  and  Thursday-evening  services ;  five  prayer- 
meetings  during  the  week  ;  magic-lantern  lectures  illustrating  the 
Scriptures ;  five  open-air  services  weekly  ;  a  tract  society,  for 
the  distribution  of  the  pastor's  sermons  by  twenty-one  friends,  who 


PERSONAL   NOTES.  375 

go  from  house  to  house  on  Sunday  afternoons;  a  Sunday-school, 
with  an  average  attendance  in  the  afternoon  of  386  scholars  and 
twenty-five  teachers,  more  of  whom,  especially  for  the  girls'  classes, 
are  greatly  needed;  an  infant  class  of  about  150  children;  a 
mothers'  meeting,  on  Wednesday  afternoons;  a  Dorcas  society; 
song-services  ;  missionary  meetings,  and  other  agencies  which  could 
not  be  mentioned  in  the  "  short  report."  The  spiritual  results 
seen  since  the  last  annual  meeting  have  been  most  cheering,  over 
fifty  persons  having  testified  to  Mr.  Olney  that  they  have  been  led 
to  the  Saviour,  and  many  of  them  having  united  with  the  churches 
at  the  Tabernacle,  Greenwich,  Pentonville,  and  Rye  Lane. 

It  was  a  good  meeting,  and  greatly  cheered  the  pastor's  heart  as 
he  saw  with  what  vigor  the  various  branches  of  Tabernacle  work 
are  being  carried  on.  Here  was  a  work  large  enough  for  a  sepa- 
rate church,  and  yet  only  one  of  many  boughs  of  the  old  tree. 

OrpJtanage.  Christinas  Festivities.  —  The  best  thanks  of  the 
orphans  and  of  the  president  of  the  Orphanage  are  due,  and  are 
hereby  heartily  tendered,  to  all  those  who  by  their  generous  help 
made  Christmas  at  the  Orphanage  to  be  a  time  of  great  enjoyment. 

Our  son  Charles,  who  took  our  place  on  Christmas  day,  sent  us 
the  following  lively  account  of  the  day's  proceedings :  — 

Dear  Father,  — 

"  Christmas  day  has  vanished  fleeting, 
Gone  its  merry  hours  of  meeting  ; 
Hearty  fun  and  hearty  eating, 
Gone  hl<e  Christmas  days  of  yore,"  — 

SO  I  write  to  tell  you  how  happy  all  were  at  the  Stockwell 
Orphanage.  To  commence  with,  the  morning  service  at  New- 
man Hall's  was  very  good.  The  fog  was  dense,  so  a  large  congre- 
gation could  not  be  expected,  but  all  were  gratified  to  see  so 
many  there.  The  collection  will  realize  ^50  (two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars).  A  fine  Christmas-box  indeed  !  The  walk,  no  doubt, 
gave  the  lads  a  keen  appetite  for  the  beef  Before  they  set  to  I 
read  your  kind  letter,  amid  perfect  silence  (for  a  pin  might  have 
dropped,  as  Tom  used  to  say)  until  I  had  finished  the  first  sen- 
tence, "  I  wish  you  all  a  merry  Christmas."  Then  they  burst  out, 
"  The  same  to  you,  sir,"  and  Mr.  Charlesworth  observed  that  it 


376  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    STURGEON. 

was  no  fault  of  yours  if  you  did  not  hear  it.  There  was  not  one 
heart  that  did  not  fervently  desire  joy  for  you  while  absent  from 
the  Orphanage.  The  boys  did  the  cheering  well  for  everybody 
named  in  the  note,  but  none  exceeded  the  hurrahs  given  for  the 
eleven  little  girls  w^hen,  with  Miss  Moore  leading  the  foremost, 
they  walked  down  the  hall  to  dinner.  Dear  little  mites,  they  stood 
on  the  form  for  the  boys  to  look  at  them,  and  then  listened  to 
your  loving  words.  As  per  usual,  ample  justice  was  done  to  the 
dinner.  Then  the  grandees  had  their  dinner.  A  vacant  chair 
again  occupied  the  centre  position  at  the  table;  I  could  not  fill 
it,  and  regretted  that  my  dear  father  was  not  there  to  do  so, 
although  I  am  truly  glad  you  are  away  from  these  awful  fogs. 
None  forgot  the  president  when  they  spoke,  but  all  mourned  his 
absence.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to  receive  a  present  from  the  "  old 
boys,"  consisting  of  a  case  of  cutlery,  —  a  very  handsome  gift 
indeed,  and  one  that  will  be  useful,  too,  by  and  by.  In  the 
evening  we  heartily  enjoyed  ourselves.  May  the  time  come  round 
when  you  will  be  there  to  rejoice  with  those  who  do  rejoice ! 

The  following  is  the  letter  which  we  sent  to  the  Orphanage :  — 

*  Mentone,  December  20. 

Dear  Boys,  —  I  wish  you  all  a  merry  Christmas.  My  son, 
Mr.  Charles  Spurgeon,  will  tell  you  that  it  is  a  great  trouble  to 
me  to  be  away  from  you  all  at  Christmas,  but  I  hope  you  will  all 
enjoy  yourselves  none  the  less,  and  be  as  happy  as  kittens.  I  am 
very  pleased  to  hear  that  as  a  rule  you  are  a  good  lot  of  fellows, 
obedient,  teachable,  and  true ;  therefore  you  have  a  right  to  be 
happy,  and  I  hope  you  are.  I  always  wish  everything  to  be  done 
to  make  you  love  the  Orphanage  and  feel  it  to  be  your  home,  and 
in  this  all  the  trustees  join,  and  so  does  Mr.  Charlesworth.  We 
want  you  to  be  very  jolly  while  you  are  with  us,  and  then  to  grow 
up  and  go  out  into  business,  and  to  turn  out  first-rate  men  and 
true  Christians. 

Boys,  give  three  cheers  for  the  trustees,  who  are  your  best 
friends,  and  then  the  same  for  Mr.  Charlesworth,  the  matrons,  and 
the  masters.  Don't  forget  the  gentlemen  who  send  the  shillings 
and  the  figs.     Hip,  hip,  hurrah  ! 

Where  are  the  girls? 


PERSONAL   NOTES.  377 

Dear  Children,  —  I    hope  you    will  be   happy  too,    with    Miss 

Moore  and  the  other  kind  folks.     You  cannot  make  quite  so  much 

noise  as  those  uproarious  boys,  but  your  voices  are  very  sweet, 

and  I  shall  be  glad  one  day  to  hear  them  when  I  get  well  and 

come    home.     Enjoy   yourselves    all   you    can,   and  try  to   make 

everybody  happy  in  your  new  home.     I  hope  my  first  little  girls 

will  be  specially  good  ones.     Ought  not  the  first  to  be  the  best? 

Your  friend  always, 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

Any  old  boys  about?  God  bless  the  young  men,  and  make 
them  our  strength  and  honor. 

Among  the  many  expressions  of  brotherly  kindness  and  sym- 
pathy which  have  reached  us  during  our  sojourn  abroad,  one  calls 
for  special  mention.  Just  as  we  were  retiring  to  rest  one  night,  a 
soft  pillow  for  our  head  and  heart  arrived  by  telegraph  from  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  This  was  the  form  in  which  the  sweet 
love-token  came  to  hand :  "  To  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  Mentone,  France. 
From  New  York  Baptist  Ministers*  Conference :  Prayers.  Sym- 
pathy. 2  Corinthians  i.  2,  7.  Potter,  Secretary."  The  full  text 
of  the  message  is  as  follows :  "  Grace  be  to  you  and  peace  from 
God  our  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  .  And  our 
hope  of  you  is  stedfast,  knowing,  that  as  ye  are  partakers  of  the 
sufferings,  so  shall  ye  be  also  of  the  consolation." 

May  the  ever-blessed  Giver  of  peace  and  Lover  of  concord 
return  to  these  brethren  ten  thousand-fold  this  their  deed  of  love 
towards  their  afflicted  fellow-servant.  Such  costly  acts  of  sponta- 
neous sympathy  go  far  to  prove  that,  degenerate  as  the  age  may 
be,  there  is  life  and  love  in  the  old  Church  yet. 

This  telegram  was  followed  on  January  15  by  the  following 
most  touching  letter,  for  which  we  feel  the  utmost  gratitude :  — 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Spurgeon: 

Beloved  Brother,  —  The  sorrowful  tidings  reach  us  that  you 
are  entirely  prostrated,  not  being  able  even  to  address  your  weekly 
epistle  of  love  to  your  own  church.  Your  sufferings  touch  the 
hearts  of  your  American  brethren  most  tenderly,   and   the  New 


3/8  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.   SPURGEOx\. 

York  Conference  of  Baptist  ministers,  numbering  more  than  one 
hundred,  has  appointed  the  undersigned  a  committee  to  express 
their  deep  sympathy  with  you  in  your  present  trial. 

Be  assured,  precious  brother,  that  this  expression  is  most  heart- 
felt and  real :  you  live  in  our  hearts  so  truly  that  your  affliction  is 
ours,  on  the  divine  principle  that  if  one  member  suffers  all  the 
members  suffer  therewith.  In  health,  you  have  sent  thrilling 
words  of  cheer  to  the  afflicted  disciples  of  the  Lamb  all  round 
the  globe.  And  now,  in  the  hour  of  your  darkness,  their  affec- 
tions cling  closer  to  you  than  ever.  Your  pain  meets  with  little 
mitigation  through  the  livelong  day  and  night  while  the  sun 
makes  his  rounds  over  all  lands,  and  we  believe  that  in  most  of 
the  nations  that  see  his  light  the  prayers  of  your  brethren  are 
rising  to  the  God  of  all  consolation  as  from  a  common  altar,  that 
divine  succor  may  be  vouchsafed  to  you  every  hour. 

Truly,  Infinite  Grace  has  chosen  you  in  the  furnace  of  affliction. 
How  far  your  terrible  pains  in  the  past  have  contributed  as  a 
holy  discipline  to  the  creation  of  that  noble  Christian  manhood 
which  has  marked  your  life  and  labors  so  long,  can  be  known  only* 
to  our  Heavenly  Father.  But  we  believe  that  as  our  Captain  was 
made  perfect  through  sufferings.  He  will  so  sanctify  yours,  that 
even  a  more  mellow  and  gentle  ministry  will  mark  your  coming 
years  than  those  which  are  past.  Should  our  hopes  be  thus  grat- 
ified, the  sorrowing  people  of  God  will  draw  strength  once  more 
from  your  weakness,  and  sweetness  out  of  your  bitter  cup. 

Dearly  beloved  one,  we  commend  to  you  now  those  broad  and 
bright  promises  of  our  Lord  which  you  have  so  forcibly  applied 
to  the  souls  of  His  people  in  their  distresses.  Let  your  Christian 
fortitude  bind  you  indissolubly  to  the  fidelity  of  your  covenant- 
keeping  Saviour,  till  a  holy  courage  can  humbly  say,  "  Though 
Thou  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  Thee."  We  shall  not  cease  to  pray 
that  our  sympathetic  Redeemer  will  be  at  your  right  hand,  that  He 
will  fill  your  room  with  heavenly  light,  and  your  heart  with  sacred 
joy.  "  Be  of  good  cheer,"  lift  up  thine  eyes,  and  see  thy  Lord 
coming  to  thy  help  on  the  wave,  and  in  the  darkest  watch  of  the 
night.  Can  he  not  say  to  the  crazy,  creaking  vessel,  that  years  are 
added  to  its  days?     This  He  has  said  in  similar  stress  heretofore. 


PERSONAL  NOTES.  379 

And  we  confidently  hope  that  your  valuable  life  will  be  still  spared 
to  do  a  glorious  work  for  that  General  Church  of  Christ  which 
claims  you  as  its  pastor,  in  common  with  the  brethren  at  the  Tab- 
ernacle. The  Conference  tenders  its  Christian  condolence  to  your 
beloved  household,  in  these  days  when  with  them  hope  and  fear 
are  struggling  so  hard  for  the  mastery.     May  Jehovah  keep  and 

bless  you  all. 

Yours  affectionately, 

Thos.  Armitage,  1 

Christopher  Rhodes,  > Committee. 
Jesse  B.  Thomas,         ^ 


380  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF  C.   H.   SPURGEON. 


PSALM   CXII. 

Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth 

And  delighteth  in  the  Lord  ! 
Wealth,  the  wealth  which  truly  cheereth, 

God  shall  give  him  for  reward  ; 
And  his  children 
Shall  be  blest  around  his  board. 

He  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever, 
Though  with  evil  tidings  tried; 

Nought  from  God  his  faith  shall  sever, 
Fixed  his  heart  shall  still  abide} 
For  believers 

Are  secured  on  every  side. 

To  the  upright  light  arises, 

Darkness  soon  gives  place  to  day; 

While  the  man  who  truth  despises, 
And  refuses  to  obey, 
In  a  moment. 

Cursed  of  God,  shall  melt  away. 

Therefore  let  us  praise  Jehovah, 
Sound  His  glorious  name  on  high, 

Sing  His  praises,  and  moreover 
By  our  actions  magnify 
Our  Redeemer, 

Who  by  blood  has  brought  us  nigh. 


C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


XXVII. 

^'JOHN     PLOUGHMAN'S     TALK"    AND 
"PICTURES." 


In  "  John  Ploughman's  Talk  "  I  have  tried  to  talk  for  ploughmen  and  com- 
mon people.  Hence  refined  taste  and  dainty  words  have  been  discarded  for 
strong  old  proverbial  expressions  and  homely  phrases.  I  have  aimed  my  blows 
at  the  vices  of  the  many,  and  tried  to  inculcate  those  moral  virtues  without 
which  men  are  degraded  and  miserable.  Much  that  needs  be  said  to  the 
toiling  masses  would  not  suit  well  the  pulpit  and  the  Sabbath ;  these  lowly 
pages  may  teach  thrift  and  industry  all  the  days  of  the  week  in  the  cottage  and 
the  workshop ;  and  if  some  learn  these  lessons  I  shall  not  repent  the  adoption 
of  the  rustic  style. 

Ploughman  is  a  name  I  may  justly  claim.  Every  minister  has  put  his  hand 
to  the  plough  :  it  is  his  business  to  break  up  the  fallow  ground  and  cast  in  good 
seed.  That  I  have  written  in  a  semi-humorous  vein  shall  need  no  apology,  if 
thereby  sound  moral  teaching  wins  a  hearing  from  the  million.  There  is  no 
particular  virtue  in  being  seriously  unreadable.  — ^  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


"JOHN     PLOUGHMAN'S     TALK"    AND 
"PICTURES." 


IF  THE   CAP   FITS,   WEAR   IT. 

FRIENDLY  READERS,  —  Last  time  I  made  a  book  I  trod 
on  some  people's  corns  and  bunions,  and  they  wrote  me 
angry  letters,  asking,  "Did  you  mean  me?"  This  time,  to  save 
them  the  expense  of  a  halfpenny  card,  I  will  begin  my  book  by 

saying,  — 

Whether  I  please  or  whether  I  tease, 

I  '11  give  you  my  honest  mind  ; 
If  the  cap  should  fit,  pray  wear  it  a  bit ; 

If  not,  you  can  leave  it  behind. 

No  offence  is  meant ;  but  if  anything  in  these  pages  should 
come  home  to  a  man,  let  him  not  send  it  next  door,  but  get  a 
coop  for  his  own  chickens.  What  is  the  use  of  reading  or  hearing 
for  other  people?  We  do  not  eat  and  drink  for  them  :  why  should 
we  lend  them  our  ears  and  not  our  mouths?  Please  then,  good 
friend,  if  you  find  a  hoe  on  these  premises,  weed  your  own  garden 
with  it. 

I  was  speaking  with  Will  Shepherd  the  other  day  about  our 
master's  old  donkey,  and  I  said :  "  He  is  so  old  and  stubborn,  he 
really  is  not  worth  his  keep."  "  No,"  said  Will,  "  and  worse  still, 
he  is  so  vicious,  that  I  feel  sure  he  '11  do  somebody  a  mischief  one 
of  these  days."  You  know  they  say  that  walls  have  ears  ;  we  were 
talking  rather  loud,  but  we  did  not  know  that  there  were  ears  to 
haystacks.  We  stared,  I  tell  you,  when  we  saw  Joe  Scroggs  come 
from  behind  the  stack,  looking  as  red  as  a  turkey-cock  and  raving 
like  mad.  He  burst  out  swearing  at  Will  and  mc,  like  a  cat  spit- 
ting at  a  dog.     His  monkey  was  up  and  no  mistake.     He  'd  let  us 


384 


LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


know  that  he  was  as  good  a  man  as  either  of  us,  or  the  two  put 
together,  for  the  matter  of  that.  Talk  about  him  in  that  way; 
he'd  do  —  I  don't  know  what.  I  told  old  Joe  we  had  never 
thought  of  him,  nor  said  a  word  about  him,  and  he  might  just  as 
well  save  his  breath  to  cool  his  porridge,  for  nobody  meant  him 
any  harm.  This  only  made  him  call  me  a  liar  and  roar  the  louder. 
My  friend  Will  was  walking  away  holding  his  sides ;  but  when  he 
saw  that  Scroggs  was  still  in  a  fume  he  laughed  outright,  and 


turned  round  on  him  and  said :  "  Why,  Joe,  we  were  talking  about 
master's  old  donkey,  and  not  about  you ;  but,  upon  my  word,  I 
shall  never  see  that  donkey  again  without  thinking  of  Joe  Scroggs." 
Joe  puffed  and  blowed,  but  perhaps  he  thought  it  an  awkward  job, 
for  he  backed  out  of  it,  and  Will  and  I  went  off  to  our  work  in 
rather  a  merry  cue,  for  old  Joe  had  blundered  on  the  truth  about 
himself  for  once  in  his  life. 

The  aforesaid  Will  Shepherd  has  sometimes  come  down  rather 
heavy  upon  me  in  his  remarks,  but  it  has  done  me  good.  It  is 
partly  through  his  home-thrusts  that  I  have  come  to  write  this  new 
book,  for  he  thought  I  was  idle ;  perhaps  I  am,  and  perhaps  I  am 
not.  Will  forgets  that  I  have  other  fish  to  fry  and  tails  to  butter ; 
and  he  does  not  recollect  that  a  ploughman's  mind  wants  to  lie 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S    TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  385 

fallow  a  little,  and  can't  give  a  crop  every  year.  It  is  hard  to 
make  rope  when  your  hemp  is  all  used  up,  or  pancakes  without 
batter,  or  rook-pie  without  birds ;  and  so  I  found  it  hard  to  write 
more  when  I  had  said  just  about  all  I  knew.  Giving  much  to  the 
poor  doth  increase  a  man's  store,  but  it  is  not  the  same  with 
writing ;  at  least  I  am  such  a  poor  scribe  that  I  don't  find  it  come 
because  I  pull.  If  your  thoughts  only  flow  by  drops,  you  can't 
pour  them  out  in  bucketfuls. 

However,  Will  has  ferreted  me  out,  and  I  am  obliged  to  him  so 
far.  I  told  him  the  other  day  what  the  winkle  said  to  the  pin : 
"  Thank  you  for  drawing  me  out,  but  you  are  rather  sharp  about 
it."  Still,  Master  Will  is  not  far  from  the  mark ;  after  three  hun- 
dred thousand  people  had  bought  my  book  it  certainly  was  time 
to  write  another:  so,  though  I  am  not  a  hatter,  I  will  again  turn 
cap-maker,  and  those  who  have  heads  may  try  on  my  wares ; 
those  who  have  none  won't  touch  them.     So,  friends,  I  am, 

Yours,  rough  and  ready, 

John  Ploughman. 


HOPE. 


Eggs  are  eggs,  but  some  are  rotten ;  and  so  hopes  are  hopes, 
but  many  of  them  are  delusions.  Hopes  are  like  women,  there  is 
a  touch  of  angel  about  them  all,  but  there  are  two  sorts.  My  boy 
Tom  has  been  blowing  a  lot  of  birds'  eggs,  and  threading  them  on 
a  string;  I  have  been  doing  the  same  thing  with  hopes,  and  here  's 
a  few  of  them,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent. 

The  sanguine  man's  hope  pops  up  In  a  moment  like  Jack-in-the- 
box  ;  it  works  with  a  spring,  and  does  not  go  by  reason.  When- 
ever this  man  looks  out  of  the  window  he  sees  better  times  coming, 
and  although  it  is  nearly  all  in  his  own  eye  and  nowhere  else,  yet 
to  see  plum-puddings  in  the  moon  is  a  far  more  cheerful  habit 
than  croaking  at  everything  like  a  two-legged  frog.  This  is  the 
kind  of  brother  to  be  on  the  road  with  on  a  pitch-dark  night,  when 
it  pours  with  rain,  for  he  carries  candles  in  his  eyes  and  a  fireside 
in  his  heart.     Beware  of  being  misled  by  him,  and  then  you  may 

25 


386  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

safely  keep  his  company.  His  fault  is  that  he  counts  his  chickens 
before  they  are  hatched,  and  sells  his  herrings  before  they  are  in 
the  net.  All  his  sparrows'  eggs  are  bound  to  turn  into  thrushes 
at  the  least,  if  not  partridges  and  pheasants.  Summer  has  fully 
come,  for  he  has  seen  one  swallow.  He  is  sure  to  make  his  fortune 
at  his  new  shop,  for  he  had  not  opened  the  door  five  minutes 
before  two  of  the  neighbors  crowded  in :  one  of  them  wanted  a 
loaf  of  bread  on  trust,  and  the  other  asked  change  for  a  shilling. 
He  is  certain  that  the  squire  means  to  give  him  his  custom,  for  he 
saw  him  reading  the  name  over  the  shop-door  as  he  rode  past. 
He  does  not  believe  in  slips  between  cups  and  lips,  but  makes 
certainties  out  of  perhapses.  Well,  good  soul,  though  he  is  a  little 
soft  at  times,  there  is  much  in  him  to  praise,  and  I  like  to  think  of 
one  of  his  odd  sayings :  "  Never  say  die  till  you  are  dead,  and  then 
it  's  no  use,  so  let  it  alone."  There  are  other  odd  people  in  the 
world,  you  see,  besides  John  Ploughman. 

My  neighbor  Shiftless  is  waiting  for  his  aunt  to  die ;  but  the  old 
lady  has  as  many  lives  as  nine  cats,  and  my  notion  is  that  when 
she  does  die  she  will  leave  her  little  money  to  the  Hospital  for 
Diseased  Cats  or  Stray  Dogs,  sooner  than  her  nephew  Jack  shall 
have  it.  Poor  creature,  he  is  dreadfully  down  at  the  heel,  and  lays 
it  all  on  the  dear  old  lady's  provoking  constitution.  However,  he 
hopes  on,  and  gets  worse  and  worse,  for  while  the  grass  grows  the 
horse  starves.  He  pulls  at  a  long  rope  who  waits  for  another's 
death  ;  he  who  hunts  after  legacies  had  need  have  iron  shoes.  He 
that  waits  for  dead  men's  shoes  may  long  go  barefoot;  he  who 
waits  for  his  uncle's  cow  need  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  spread  the 
butter.  He  who  lives  on  hope  has  a  slim  diet.  If  Jack  Shiftless 
never  had  an  aunt,  he  might  have  tucked  up  his  shirt-sleeves  and 
worked  for  himself;  but  they  told  him  that  he  was  born  with  a 
silver  spoon  in  his  mouth,  and  that  made  a  spoon  of  him,  so  that 
he  is  no  more  use  at  work  than  a  cow  at  catching  hares.  If  any- 
body likes  to  leave  John  Ploughman  a  legacy,  he  will  be  very 
much  obliged  to  them,  but  they  had  better  not  tell  him  of  it  for 
fear  he  should  not  plough  so  straight  a  furrow ;  they  had  better 
make  it  twice  as  much,  and  take  him  by  surprise.  On  the  whole, 
it  would  be  better  to  leave  it  to  the  Pastors'  College  or  the  Stock- 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  387 

well  Orphanage,  for  it  will  be  well  used  in  either  case.  I  wish 
people  would  think  less  about  windfalls,  and  plant  more  apple- 
trees.  Hopes  that  grow  out  of  graves  are  grave  mistakes ;  and 
wh&n  they  cripple  a  man's  own  energies,  they  are  a  sort  of  hang- 
man's rope,  dangling  round  a  man's  neck. 

Some  people  were  born  on  the  first  of  April,  and  are  always 
hoping  without  sense  or  reason.  Their  ship  is  to  come  home,  they 
are  to  dig  up  a  pot  of  gold,  or  to  hear  of  something  to  their  advan- 
tage. Poor  sillies,  they  have  wind  on  the  brain,  and  dream  while 
they  are  awake.  They  may  hold  their  mouths  open  a  long  while 
before  fried  ham  and  eggs  will  come  flying  into  them,  and  yet 
they  really  seem  to  believe  that  some  stroke  of  luck,  some  windfall 
of  golden  apples,  will  one  day  set  them  up  and  make  gentlemen 
of  them.  They  hope  to  ride  in  their  coaches,  and  by  and  by  find 
themselves  shut  up  in  a  place  where  the  coaches  won't  run  over 
them.  You  may  whistle  a  long  while  before  goldfinches  will  hop 
on  to  your  thumb.  Once  in  a  while  one  man  in  a  million  may 
stumble  against  a  fortune,  but  thousands  ruin  themselves  by  idle 
expectations.  Expect  to  get  half  of  what  you  earn,  a  quarter  of 
what  is  your  due,  and  none  of  what  you  have  lent,  and  you  will 
be  near  the  mark ;  but  to  look  for  a  fortune  to  fall  from  the  moon 
is  to  play  the  fool  with  a  vengeance.  A  man  ought  to  hope  within 
the  bounds  of  reason  and  the  promises  of  the  good  old  Book. 
Hope  leans  on  an  anchor,  but  an  anchor  must  have  something  to 
hold  by  and  to  hold  to.  A  hope  without  grounds  is  a  tub  without 
a  bottom,  a  horse  without  a  head,  a  goose  without  a  body,  a  shoe 
without  a  sole,  a  knife  without  a  blade.  Who  but  Simple  Simon 
would  begin  to  build  a  house  at  the  top?  there  must  be  a  founda- 
tion. Hope  is  no  hope,  but  sheer  folly  when  a  man  hopes  for 
impossibilities,  or  looks  for  crops  without  sowing  seed,  and  for 
happiness  without  doing  good.  Such  hopes  lead  to  great  boast 
and  small  roast ;  they  act  like  a  jack-o'-lantern,  and  lead  men  into 
the  ditch.  There  's  poor  Will  at  the  workhouse,  who  always  de- 
clares that  he  owns  a  great  estate,  only  the  right  owner  keeps  him 
out  of  it;  his  name  is  Jenyns,  or  Jennings,  and  somebody  of  that 
name  he  says  has  left  enough  money  to  buy  the  Bank  of  England, 
and  one  day  he  is  to  have  a  share  of  it;   but  meanwhile  poor  Will 


388  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

finds  the  parish  broth  poor  stuff  for  such  a  great  gentleman's 
stomach ;  he  has  promised  me  an  odd  thousand  or  two  when  he 
gets  his  fortune,  and  I  am  going  to  build  a  castle  in  the  air  with 
it,  and  ride  to  it  on  a  broomstick.  Poor  soul,  like  a  good  many 
others  he  has  windmills  in  his  head,  and  may  make  his  will  on  his 
thumb-nail  for  anything  that  he  has  to  give.  Depend  upon  it, 
ploughing  the  air  is  not  half  so  profitable  as  it  is  easy:  he  who 
hopes  in  this  world  for  more  than  he  can  get  by  his  own  earnings 
hopes  to  find  apricots  on  a  crab-tree.  He  who  marries  a  slovenly, 
dressy  girl,  and  hopes  to  make  her  a  good  wife,  might  as  well  buy 
a  goose  and  expect  it  to  turn  out  a  milch  cow.  He  who  takes  his 
boys  to  the  beer-shop,  and  trusts  that  they  will  grow  up  sober, 
puts  his  coffee-pot  on  the  fire  and  expects  to  see  it  look  bright  as 
new  tin.  Men  cannot  be  in  their  senses  when  they  brew  with  bad 
malt  and  look  for  good  beer,  or  set  a  wicked  example  and  reckon 
upon  raising  a  respectable  family.  You  may  hope  and  hope  till 
your  heart  grows  sick ;  but  when  you  send  your  boy  up  the  chim- 
ney, he  '11  come  down  black  for  all  your  hoping.  Teach  a  child 
to  lie,  and  then  hope  that  he  will  grow  up  honest ;  better  put  a 
wasp  in  a  tar-barrel  and  wait  till  he  makes  you  honey.  As  to  the 
next  world,  it  is  a  great  pity  that  men  do  not  take  a  little  more 
care  when  they  talk  of  it.  If  a  man  dies  drunk,  somebody  or 
other  is  sure  to  say,  "  I  hope  he  is  gone  to  heaven."  It  is  all  very 
well  to  wish  it,  but  to  hope  it  is  another  thing.  Men  turn  their 
faces  to  hell  and  hope  to  get  to  heaven :  why  don't  they  walk  into 
the  horse-pond,  and  hope  to  be  dry?  Hopes  of  heaven  are  solemn 
things,  and  should  be  tried  by  the  Word  of  God.  A  man  might 
as  well  hope,  as  our  Lord  says,  to  gather  grapes  of  thorns  or  figs 
of  thistles,  as  look  for  a  happy  hereafter  at  the  end  of  a  bad  life. 
There  is  only  one  Rock  to  build  good  hopes  on,  and  that  is  not 
Peter,  as  the  Pope  says,  neither  is  it  sacraments,  as  the  old  Roman 
beast's  cubs  tell  us,  but  the  merits  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  There  John 
Ploughman  rests,  and  he  is  not  afraid,  for  this  is  a  firm  footing, 
and  gives  him  a  hope  sure  and  stedfast,  which  neither  life  nor 
death  can  shake ;  but  I  must  not  turn  preacher ;  so  please  remem- 
ber that  presumption  is  a  ladder  which  will  break  the  mounter's 
neck;   and  don't  try  it  as  you  love  your  soul. 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S    TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  389 


A  HANDSAW  IS  A  GOOD  THING,  BUT  NOT  TO  SHAVE  WITH. 

Our  friend  will  cut  more  than  he  will  eat,  and  shave  off  some- 
thing more  than  hair,  and  then  he  will  blame  the  saw.  His  brains 
don't  lie  in  his  beard,  nor  yet  in  the  skull  above  it,  or  he  would 
see  that  his  saw  will  only  make  sores.  There  's  sense  in  choosing 
your  tools,  for  a  pig's  tail  will  never  make  a  good  arrow,  nor  will 


his  ear  make  a  silk  purse.  You  can't  catch  rabbits  with  drums, 
nor  pigeons  with  plums.  A  good  thing  is  not  good  out  of  its 
place.  It  is  much  the  same  with  lads  and  girls ;  you  can't  put 
all  boys  to  one  trade,  nor  send  all  girls  to  the  same  service.  One 
chap  will  make  a  London  clerk,  and  another  will  do  better  to 
plough  and  sow,  and  reap  and  mow,  and  be  a  farmer's  boy.  It 's 
no  use  forcing  them ;  a  snail  will  never  run  a  race,  nor  a  mouse 
drive  a  wagon. 

"  Send  a  boy  to  the  well  against  his  will, 
The  pitcher  will  break  and  the  water  spill." 


39^  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

With  unwilling  hounds  it  is  hard  to  hunt  hares.  To  go  against 
nature  and  inclination  is  to  row  against  wind  and  tide.  They  say 
you  may  praise  a  fool  till  you  make  him  useful :  I  don't  know 
so  much  about  that,  but  I  do  know  that  if  I  get  a  bad  knife  I 
generally  cut  my  finger,  and  a  blunt  axe  is  more  trouble  than 
profit.  No,  let  me  shave  with  a  razor  if  I  shave  at  all,  and  do 
my  work  with  the  best  tools  I  can  get. 

Never  set  a  man  to  work  he  is  not  fit  for,  for  he  will  never  do  it 
well.  They  say  that  if  pigs  fly  they  always  go  with  their  tails  for- 
ward, and  awkward  workmen  are  much  the  same.  Nobody  expects 
cows  to  catch  crows,  or  hens  to  wear  hats.  There  's  reason  in 
roasting  eggs,  and  there  should  be  reason  in  choosing  servants. 
Don't  put  a  round  peg  into  a  square  hole,  nor  wind  up  your  watch 
with  a  corkscrew,  nor  set  a  tender-hearted  man  to  whip  wife-beat- 
ers, nor  a  bear  to  be  a  relieving-officer,  nor  a  publican  to  judge  of 
the  licensing  laws.  Get  the  right  man  in  the  right  place,  and  then 
all  goes  as  smooth  as  skates  on  ice ;  but  the  wrong  man  puts  all ' 
awry,  as  the  sow  did  when  she  folded  the  linen. 

It  is  a  temptation  to  many  to  trust  them  with  money :  don't  put 
them  to  take  care  of  it  if  you  ever  wish  to  see  it  again.  Never  set 
a  cat  to  watch  cream,  nor  a  pig  to  gather  peaches,  for  if  the  cream 
and  the  peaches  go  a-missing  you  will  have  yourself  to  thank  for 
it.  It  is  a  sin  to  put  people  where  they  are  likely  to  sin.  If  you 
believe  the  old  saying,  that  when  }^ou  set  a  beggar  on  horseback 
he  will  ride  to  the  devil,  don't  let  him  have  a  horse  of  yours. 

If  you  want  a  thing  well  done,  do  it  yourself,  and  pick  your 
tools.  It  is  true  that  a  man  must  row  with  such  oars  as  he  has, 
but  he  should  not  use  the  boat-hook  for  a  paddle.  Take  not  the 
tongs  to  poke  the  fire,  nor  the  poker  to  put  on  the  coals.  A  news- 
paper on  Sunday  is  as  much  out  of  place  as  a  warming-pan  on 
the  first  of  August,  or  a  fan  on  a  snowy  day:  the  Bible  suits  the 
Sabbath  a  deal  better. 

He  who  tries  to  make  money  by  betting  uses  a  wrong  tool,  and 
is  sure  to  cut  his  fingers.  As  well  hope  to  grow  golden  pippins 
on  the  bottom  of  the  sea  as  to  make  gain  among  gamblers  if  you 
are  an  honest  man.  Hard  work  and  thrifty  habits  are  the  right 
razor,  gambling  is  a  handsaw. 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  39 1 

Some  things  want  doing  gently,  and  telling  a  man  of  his  faults  is 
one  of  them.  You  would  not  fetch  a  hatchet  to  break  open  an 
egg,  nor  kill  a  fly  on  your  boy's  forehead  with  a  sledge-hammer, 
and  so  you  must  not  try  to  mend  your  neighbor's  little  fault  by 
blowing  him  up  sky-high.  Never  fire  off  a  musket  to  kill  a 
midge,  and  don't  raise  a  hue  and  cry  about  the  half  of  nothing. 

Do  not  throw  away  a  saw  because  it  is  not  a  razor,  for  it  will 
serve  your  turn  another  day,  and  cut  your  ham-bone  if  it  won't 
shave  off  your  stubble.  A  whetstone,  though  it  cannot  cut,  may 
sharpen  a  knife  that  will.  A  match  gives  little  light  itself,  but  it 
may  light  a  candle  to  brighten  up  the  room.  Use  each  thing  and 
each  man  according  to  common-sense,  and  you  will  be  uncom- 
monly sensible.  You  don't  milk  horses  nor  ride  cows,  and  by  the 
same  rule  you  must  make  of  every  man  what  he  is  meant  for, 
and  the  farm  will  be  as  right  as  a  trivet. 

Everything  has  its  use,  but  no  one  thing  is  good  for  all  purposes. 
The  baby  said,  "  The  cat  crew,  and  the  cock  rocked  the  cradle;  " 
but  old  folks  knew  better :  the  cat  is  best  at  mousing,  and  the  cock 
at  rousing.  That 's  for  that,  as  salt  is  for  herrings,  and  sugar  for 
gooseberries,  and  Nan  for  Nicholas.  Don't  choose  your  tools  by 
their  looks,  for  that 's  best  which  does  best.  A  silver  trowel  lays 
very  few  bricks.  You  cannot  curry  a  horse  with  a  tortoiseshell 
comb,  or  fell  oaks  with  a  penknife,  or  open  oysters  with  a  gold 
toothpick.  Fiue  is  not  so  good  as  Jit  when  work  is  to  be  done. 
A  good  workman  will  get  on  pretty  well  with  a  poor  tool,  and  a 
brave  soldier  never  lacks  a  weapon ;  still,  the  best  is  good  enough 
for  me,  and  John  Ploughman  does  not  care  to  use  a  clumsy  tool 
because  it  looks  pretty.  Better  ride  on  an  ass  that  carries  you 
than  on  a  steed  which  throws  you ;  it  is  far  better  to  work  with  an 
old-fashioned  spade  which  suits  your  hand  than  with  a  new-fangled 
invention  you  don't  understand. 

In  trying  to  do  good  to  your  fellow-men  the  Gospel  is  out  of 
sight  the  best  instrument  to  work  with.  The  new  doctrine  which 
they  call  "  modern  thought "  is  nothing  better  than  a  handsaw,  and 
it  won't  work  a  bit.  This  fine  new  nothing  of  a  gospel  would  not 
save  a  mouse,  nor  move  the  soul  of  a  tomtit;  but  the  glorious 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  suited  to  man's  need,  and  by  God's  grace 


392  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

does  its  work  famously.  Let  every  preacher  and  teacher  keep  to  it, 
for  they  will  never  find  a  better.  Try  to  win  men  with  its  loving 
words  and  precious  promises,  and  there  's  no  fear  of  labor  in  vain. 
Some  praise  the  balm  of  Gilead,  or  man's  morality ;  many  try  the 
Roman  salve,  or  the  oil  of  Babylon ;  and  others  use  a  cunning 
ointment  mixed  by  learned  philosophers ;  but  for  his  own  soul's 
wounds,  and  for  the  hurts  of  others,  John  Ploughman  knows  but 
one  cure,  and  that  is  given  gratis  by  the  Good  Physician  to  all  who 
ask  for  it.  A  humble  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  will  soon  bring  you 
this  sovereign  remedy.     Use  no  other  for  no  other  is  of  use. 


ON    PATIENCE. 

Patience  is  better  than  wisdom :  an  ounce  of  patience  is  worth 
a  pound  of  brains.  All  men  praise  patience,  but  few  enough  can 
practise  it ;  it  is  a  medicine  which  is  good  for  all  diseases,  and 
therefore  every  old  woman  recommends  it ;  but  it  is  not  every 
garden  that  grows  the  herbs  to  make  it  with.  When  one's  flesh 
and  bones  are  full  of  aches  and  pains,  it  is  as  natural  for  us  to 
murmur  as  for  a  horse  to  shake  his  head  when  the  flies  tease  him, 
or  a  wheel  to  rattle  when  a  spoke  is  loose ;  but  nature  should  not 
be  the  rule  with  Christians,  or  what  is  their  religion  worth?  If  a 
soldier  fights  no  better  than  a  ploughboy,  off  with  his  red  coat. 
We  expect  more  fruit  from  an  apple-tree  than  from  a  thorn,  and 
we  have  a  right  to  do  so.  The  disciples  of  a  patient  Saviour 
should  be  patient  themselves.  Grin  and  bear  it  is  the  old-fash- 
ioned advice,  but  sing  and  bear  it  is  a  great  deal  better.  After  all, 
we  get  very  few  cuts  of  the  whip,  considering  what  bad  cattle  we 
are ;  and  when  we  do  smart  a  little,  it  is  soon  over.  Pain  past  is 
pleasure,  and  experience  comes  by  it.  W^e  ought  not  to  be  afraid 
of  going  down  into  Egypt,  when  we  know  we  shall  come  out  of 
it  with  jewels  of  silver  and  gold. 

Impatient  people  water  their  miseries  and  hoe  up  their  com- 
forts ;   sorrows  are  visitors  that  come  without  invitation,  but  com- 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  393 

plaining  minds  send  a  wagon  to  bring  their  troubles  home  in. 
Many  people  are  born  crying,  live  complaining,  and  die  disap- 
pointed ;  they  chew  the  bitter  pill  which  they  would  not  even 
know  to  be  bitter  if  they  had  the  sense  to  swallow  it  whole  in  a 
cup  of  patience  and  water.  They  think  every  other  man's  burden 
to  be  light,  and  their  own  feathers  to  be  heavy  as  lead ;  they  are 
hardly  done  by  in  their  own  opinion ;  no  one's  toes  are  so  often 
trodden  on  by  the  black  ox  as  theirs ;  the  snow  falls  thickest 
round  their  door,  and  the  hail  rattles  hardest  on  their  windows ; 
and  yet,  if  the  truth  were  known,  it  is  their  fancy  rather  than 
their  fate,  which  makes  things  go  so  hard  with  them.  Many 
would  be  well  off  if  they  could  but  think  so.  A  little  sprig  of 
the  herb  called  content  put  into  the  poorest  soup  will  make  it 
taste  as  rich  as  the  Lord  Mayor's  turtle.  John  Ploughman  grows 
the  plant  in  his  garden,  but  the  late  hard  winter  nipped  it  terribly, 
so  that  he  cannot  afford  to  give  his  neighbors  a  slip  of  it;  they 
had  better  follow  Matthew  xxv.  9,  and  go  to  those  who  sell  and 
buy  for  themselves.  Grace  is  a  good  soil  to  grow  it  in,  but  it 
wants  watering  from  the  fountain  of  mercy. 

To  be  poor  is  not  always  pleasant,  but  worse  things  than  that 
happen  at  sea.  Small  shoes  are  apt  to  pinch,  but  not  if  you  have 
a  small  foot ;  if  we  have  little  means  it  will  be  well  to  have  little 
desires.  Poverty  is  no  shame,  but  being  discontented  with  it  is. 
In  some  things  the  poor  are  better  off  than  the  rich ;  for  if  a  poor 
man  has  to  seek  meat  for  his  stomach,  he  is  more  likely  to  get 
what  he  is  after  than  a  rich  man  who  seeks  a  stomach  for  his 
meat.  A  poor  man's  table  is  soon  spread,  and  his  labor  spares 
his  buying  sauce.  The  best  doctors  are  Dr.  Diet,  Dr.  Quiet,  and 
Dr.  Merryman,  and  many  a  godly  ploughman  has  all  these  gentle- 
men to  wait  upon  him.  Plenty  makes  dainty,  but  hunger  finds  no 
fault  with  the  cook.  Hard  work  brings  health,  and  an  ounce  of 
health  is  worth  a  sack  of  diamonds.  It  is  not  how  much  we  have, 
but  how  much  we  enjoy,  that  makes  happiness.  There  is  more 
sweet  in  a  spoonful  of  sugar  than  in  a  cask  of  vinegar.  It  is  not 
the  quantity  of  our  goods,  but  the  blessing  of  God  on  what  we 
have  that  makes  us  truly  rich.  The  parings  of  a  pippin  are  better 
than  a  whole  crab ;  a  dinner  of  herbs  with  peace  is  better  than  a 


394  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    II.    SPURGEON. 

stalled  ox  and  contention  therewith.  "  Better  is  little  with  the  fear 
of  the  Lord  than  great  treasure  and  trouble  therewith."  A  little 
wood  will  heat  my  little  oven ;  why,  then,  should  I  murmur 
because  all  the  woods  are  not  mine? 

When  troubles  come,  it  is  of  no  use  to  fly  in  the  face  of  God 
by  hard  thoughts  of  providence;  that  is  kicking  against  the 
pricks  and  hurting  your  feet.  The  trees  bow  in  the  wind,  and  so 
must  we.  Every  time  the  sheep  bleats,  it  loses  a  mouthful,  and 
every  time  we  complain  we  miss  a  blessing.  Grumbling  is  a  bad 
trade  and  yields  no  profit,  but  patience  has  a  golden  hand.  Our 
evils  will  soon  be  over.  After  rain  comes  clear  shining ;  black 
crows  have  wings ;  every  winter  turns  to  spring ;  every  night 
breaks  into  morning. 

"  Blow  the  wind  never  so  fast, 
It  will  lower  at  last." 

If  the  door  shall  be  shut  God  will  open  another ;  if  the  peas  do 
not  yield  well,  the  beans  may ;  if  one  hen  leaves  her  eggs,  another 
will  bring  all  her  brood ;  there  's  a  bright  side  to  all  things,  and  a 
good  God  everywhere.  Somewhere  or  other  in  the  worst  flood  of 
trouble,  there  always  is  a  dry  spot  for  contentment  to  get  its  foot 
on,  and  if  there  were  not,  it  would  learn  to  swim. 

Friends,  let  us  take  to  patience  and  water-gruel,  as  the  old  folks 
used  to  tell  us,  rather  than  catch  the  miserables,  and  give  others 
the  disease  by  wickedly  finding  fault  with  God.  The  best  remedy 
for  affliction  is  submitting  to  Providence.  What  can't  be  cured 
must  be  endured.  If  we  cannot  get  bacon,  let  us  bless  God  that 
there  are  still  some  cabbages  in  the  garden.  Must  is  a  hard  nut 
to  crack,  but  it  has  a  sweet  kernel.  "  All  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God."  Whatever  falls  from  the  skies  is, 
sooner  or  later,  good  for  the  land  ;  whatever  comes  to  us  from  God 
is  worth  having,  even  though  it  be  a  rod.  We  cannot  by  nature 
like  trouble  any  more  than  a  mouse  can  fall  in  love  with  a  cat,  and 
yet  Paul  by  grace  came  to  glory  in  tribulations  also.  Losses  and 
crosses  are  heavy  to  bear,  but  when  our  hearts  are  right  with  God, 
it  is  wonderful  how  easy  the  yoke  becomes.  We  must  needs  go 
to  glory  by  the  way  of  Weeping  Cross ;    and  as  we  were  never 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES. 


395 


promised  that  we  should  ride  to  heaven  hi  a  feather-bed,  we  must 
not  be  disappointed  when  we  sec  the  road  to  be  rough,  as  our 
fathers  found  it  before  us.  All  's  well  that  ends  well ;  and  there- 
fore let  us  plough  the  heaviest  soil  with  our  eye  on  the  sheaves  of 
harvest,  and  learn  to  sing  at  our  labor  while  others  murmur. 


ALL  ARE  NOT  HUNTERS  THAT  BLOW  THE  HORN. 

He  does  not  look  much  like  a  hunter !  Nimrod  would  never 
own  him.  But  how  he  blows  !  Goodness  gracious,  what  a  row  !  as 
the  linnet  said  when  he  heard  a  donkey  singing  his  evening  hymn. 


There's  more  goes  to  ploughing  than  knowing  how  to  whistle; 
and  hunting  is  not  all  tally-ho  and  horn-blowing.  Appearances 
are  deceitful.  Outward  show  is  not  everything.  All  are  not 
butchers  that  carry  a  steel,  and  all  are  not  bishops  that  wear 
aprons.     You  must  not  buy  goods  by  the  label,  for  I  have  heard 


396  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

that  the  finer  the  trade-mark  the  worse  the  article.  Never  hav^e 
we  seen  more  horn  or  less  hunter  than  in  our  picture.  Blow  away, 
my  hearty,  till  your  toes  look  out  of  your  boots ;  there  's  no  fear 
of  your  killing  either  fox  or  stag  ! 

Now,  the  more  people  blow,  the  more  they  may,  but  he  is  a 
fool  who  believes  all  they  say.  As  a  rule,  the  smallest  boy  carries 
the  biggest  fiddle,  and  he  who  makes  most  boast  has  least  roast. 
He  who  has  least  wisdom  has  most  vanity.  John  Lackland  is 
wonderfully  fond  of  being  called  Esquire,  and  there  's  none  so 
pleased  at  being  dubbed  a  doctor  as  the  man  who  least  deserves 
it.  Many  a  D.  D.  is  fiddle-de-dee.  I  have  heard  say,  "  Always 
talk  big,  and  somebody  will  think  you  great;  "  but  my  old  friend 
Will  Shepherd  says:  "  Save  your  wind  for  running  up  a  hill,  and 
don't  give  us  big  words  off  a  weak  stomach.  Look,"  said  he  once 
to  me,  "  there  's  Solomon  Braggs  holding  up  his  head  like  a  hen 
drinking  water,  but  there's  nothing  in  it!  With  him  it's  much 
din  and  little  done." 

"  Of  all  speculations  the  market  holds  forth, 
The  best  that  I  know  for  a  lover  of  pelf 
Were  to  buy  up  this  Braggs  at  the  price  he  is  worth, 
And  sell  him  — at  that  which  he  sets  on  himself." 

Before  honor  is  humility;  but  a  prating  fool  shall  fall,  and  when 
he  falls  very  few  will  be  in  a  hurry  to  pick  him  up. 

A  long  tongue  generally  goes  with  a  short  hand.  We  are  most 
of  us  better  at  saying  than  doing.  We  can  all  tattle  away  from 
the  battle,  but  many  fly  when  the  fight  is  nigh.  Some  are  all 
sound  and  fury,  and  when  they  have  bragged  their  brag  all  is 
over,  and  amen.  The  fat  Dutchman  was  the  wisest  pilot  in  Flush- 
ing, only  he  never  went  to  sea ;  and  the  Irishman  was  the  finest 
rider  in  Connaught,  only  he  would  never  trust  himself  on  a  horse, 
because,  as  he  said,  "  he  generally  fell  off"  before  he  got  on."  A 
bachelor's  wife  is  always  well  managed,  and  old  maids  always 
bring  up  their  children  in  prime  style.  We  think  we  can  do  what 
we  are  not  called  to,  and  if  by  chance  the  thing  falls  to  our  lot  we 
do  worse  than  those  we  blamed.  Hence  it  is  wise  to  be  slow  in 
foretelling  what  we  will  do,  for,  — 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  397 

"  Thus  saith  the  proverb  of  the  wise, 
'  Who  boasteth  least  tells  fewest  lies.'  " 

There  is  another  old  rhyme  which  is  as  full  of  reason  as  a  pod  is 

full  of  peas,  — 

"  Little  money  is  soonest  spended  ; 
Fewest  words  are  soonest  mended." 

Of  course,  every  potter  praises  his  own  pot,  and  we  can  all  toot 
a  little  on  our  own  trumpet;  but  some  blow  as  if  nobody  ever 
had  a  horn  but  themselves.  "After  me  the  flood,"  says  the  mighty 
big  man,  and  whether  it  be  so  or  no  we  have  floods  enough  while 
he  lives.  I  mean  floods  of  words,  words,  words,  enough  to  drown 
all  your  senses.  Oh  that  the  man  had  a  mouth  big  enough  to 
say  all  he  has  to  say  at  one  go,  and  have  done  with  it !  But 
then  one  had  need  get  to  the  other  end  of  the  world  till  his  talk 
had  run  itself  dry.  Oh  for  a  quiet  hayloft,  or  a  sawpit,  or  a  dun- 
geon, where  the  sound  of  the  jawbone  would  no  more  be  heard ! 
They  say  a  brain  is  worth  little  if  you  have  not  a  tongue ;  but 
what  is  a  tongue  worth  without  a  brain?  Bellowing  is  all  very 
well,  but  the  cow  for  me  is  that  which  fills  the  pail.  A  braying 
ass  eats  little  hay,  and  that 's  a  saving  in  fodder ;  but  a  barking 
dog  catches  no  game,  and  that 's  a  loss  to  the  owner.  Noise  is  no 
profit,  and  talk  hinders  work. 

When  a  man's  song  is  in  his  praise,  let  the  hymn  be  short  metre, 
and  let  the  tune  be  in  the  minor  key.  He  who  talks  forever  about 
himself  has  a  foolish  subject,  and  is  likely  to  worry  and  weary  all 
around  him.  Good  wine  needs  no  bush,  and  a  man  who  can  do 
well  seldom  boasts  about  it.  The  emptiest  tub  makes  the  loudest 
noise.  Those  who  give  themselves  out  to  be  fine  shots  kill  very 
few  birds,  and  many  a  crack  ploughman  does  a  shorter  day's  work 
than  plain  John,  though  he  is  nothing  off  the  common ;  and  so  on 
the  whole  it  is  pretty  clear  that  the  best  huntsmen  are  not  those 
who  are  for  everlastingly  blowing  the  horn. 


398 


LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


HE   LIVES  UNDER  THE   SIGN   OF  THE  CAT'S  FOOT. 


The  question  was  once  asked,  When  should  a  man  marry?  and 
the  merry  answer  was,  that  for  young  men  it  is  too  soon,  and 
for  old  men  it  is  too  late.  This  is  all  very  fine,  but  it  will  not 
wash.  Both  the  wisdom  and  the  folly  of  men  seem  banded  to- 
gether to  make  a  mock  of  this  doctrine.  Men  are  such  fools  that 
they  must  and  will  marry,  even  if  they  marry  fools.     It  is  wise  to 


marry  when  we  can  marry  wisely,  and  then  the  sooner  the  better. 
How  many  show  their  sense  in  choosing  a  partner  it  is  not  for  me 
to  say,  but  I  fear  that  in  many  cases  love  is  blind,  and  makes  a 
very  blind  choice.  I  don't  suppose  that  some  people  would  ever 
get  married  at  all  if  love  had  its  wits  about  it.  It  is  a  mystery 
how  certain  parties  ever  found  partners ;  truly  there  's  no  accounting 
for  tastes.  However,  as  they  make  their  bed  they  must  lie  on  it, 
and  as  they  tie  the  knot  they  must  be  tied  by  it.  If  a  man  catches 
a  tartar,  or  lets  a  tartar  catch  him,  he  must  take  his  dose  of  tartaric 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  399 

acid,  and  make  as  few  ugly  faces  as  he  can.  If  a  three-legged 
stool  come  flying  through  the  air,  he  must  be  thankful  for  such  a 
plain  token  of  love  from  the  woman  of  his  choice,  and  the  best 
thing  he  can  do  is  to  sit  down  on  it  and  wait  for  the  next  little 
article. 

When  it  is  said  of  a  man,  "  He  lives  under  the  sign  of  the  cat's 
foot,"  he  must  try  and  please  his  pussy,  that  she  may  not  scratch 
him  more  than  such  cats  generally  do.  A  good  husband  will  gen- 
erally have  a  good  wife,  or  make  a  bad  wife  better.  Bad  Jack 
makes  a  great  noise  about  bad  Jill,  but  there  's  generally  twenty 
of  one  where  there 's  a  score  of  the  other.  They  say  a  burden  of 
one's  own  choosing  is  never  felt  to  be  heavy ;  but  I  don't  know, 
some  men  are  loaded  with  mischief  as  soon  as  they  have  a  wife  to 
carry.     Yet 

A  good  woman  is  worth,  if  she  were  sold. 

The  fairest  crown  that 's  made  of  gold. 

She  is  a  pleasure,  a  treasure,  and  a  joy  without  measure.  A  good 
wife  and  health  are  a  man's  best  wealth ;  and  he  who  is  in  such  a 
case  should  envy  no  man's  place.  Even  when  a  woman  is  a  little 
tart,  it  is  better  than  if  she  had  no  spirit,  and  made  her  house  into 
a  dirt  pie.  A  shrew  is  better  than  a  slut,  though  one  can  be  quite 
miserable  enough  with  either.  If  she  is  a  good  housewife,  and 
looks  well  after  the  children,  one  may  put  up  with  a  Caudle  lec- 
ture now  and  then,  though  a  cordial  lecture  would  be  a  deal 
better.  A  husband  is  in  a  pickle  indeed  if  he  gets  tied  up  to  a 
regular  scold ;  he  might  as  well  be  skinned  and  set  up  to  his  neck 
in  a  tub  of  brine.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  scold's  song?  Read  it, 
you  young  folks  who  think  of  committing  matrimony,  and  think 
twice  before  you  get  married  once. 

When  in  the  morn  I  ope  mine  eyes 

To  entertain  the  day, 
Before  my  husband  e'en  can  rise, 

I  scold  him,  —  then  I  pray. 

When  I  at  table  take  my  place, 

Whatever  be  the  meat, 
I  first  do  scold,  —  and  then  say  grace, 

If  so  disposed  to  eat. 


400  LIFE    AND   LABORS    OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

Too  fat,  too  lean,  too  hot,  too  cold, 

I  always  do  complain  ; 
Too  raw,  too  roast,  too  young,  too  old,  — 

Faults  I  will  find  or  feign. 

Let  it  be  flesh,  or  fowl,  or  fish, 

It  never  shall  be  said 
But  I'll  find  fault  with  meat  or  dish, 

With  master  or  with  maid. 

But  when  I  go  to  bed  at  night 

I  heartily  do  weep, 
That  I  must  part  with  my  delight,  — 

I  cannot  scold  and  sleep. 

However,  this  doth  mitigate 

And  much  abate  my  sorrow. 
That  though  to-night  it  be  too  late, 

I  '11  early  scold  to-morrow. 

When  the  husband  is  not  a  man,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if 
the  wife  wears  the  top-boots :  the  mare  may  well  be  the  best  horse 
when  the  other  horse  is  a  donkey.  Well  may  a  woman  feel  that 
she  is  lord  and  master  when  she  has  to  earn  the  living  for  the 
family,  as  is  sometimes  the  case.  She  ought  not  to  be  the  head, 
but  if  she  has  all  the  brains,  what  is  she  to  do  ?  What  poor  daw- 
dles many  men  would  be  without  their  wives !  As  poor  softy 
Simpkins  says,  if  Bill's  wife  becomes  a  widow,  who  will  cut  the 
pudding  up  for  him,  and  will  there  be  a  pudding  at  all?  It  is 
grand  when  the  wife  knows  her  place,  and  keeps  it,  and  they  both 
pull  together  in  everything.  Then  she  is  a  helpmeet  indeed,  and 
makes  the  house  a  home.     Old  friend  Tusser  says,  — 

"  When  husband  is  absent  let  housewife  be  chief, 
And  look  to  their  labor  who  live  from  their  sheaf; 
The  housewife  's  so  named  for  she  keepeth  the  house, 
And  must  tend  on  her  profit  as  cat  on  a  mouse." 

He  is  very  pat  upon  it  that  much  of  household  affairs  must  rest  on 
the  wife,  and  he  writes : 

"  Both  out,  not  allow, 
Keep  home,  housewife  thou." 

Like  the  old  man  and  woman  in  the  toy  which  shows  the  weather, 
one  must  be  sure  to  be  in  if  the  other  goes  out.  When  the  king 
is  abroad  the  queen  must  reign  at  home,  and  when  he  returns  to 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  4OI 

his  throne  he  is  bound  to  look  upon  her  as  his  crown,  and  prize 
her  above  gold  and  jewels.  He  should  feel,  "  If  there  's  only  one 
good  wife  in  the  whole  world,  I  've  got  her."  John  Ploughman  has 
long  thought  just  that  of  his  own  wife,  and  after  five  and  twenty- 
years  he  is  more  sure  of  it  than  ever.  He  never  bets,  but  he 
would  not  mind  wagering  a  farthing  cake  that  there  is  not  a  better 
woman  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  than  his  own,  very  own  beloved. 
Happy  is  the  man  who  is  happy  in  his  wife.  Let  him  love  her  as 
he  loves  himself,  and  a  little  better,  for  she  is  his  better  half. 

Thank  God  that  hath  so  blest  thee, 
And  sit  down,  John,  and  rest  thee. 

There  is  one  case  in  which  I  don't  wonder  if  the  wife  does  put  ner 
mate  under  the  cat's  foot,  and  that  is  when  he  slinks  off  to  the 
public  and  wastes  his  wages.  Even  then  love  and  gentleness  is  the 
best  way  of  getting  him  home ;  but,  really,  some  topers  have  no 
feeling,  and  laugh  at  kindness,  and  therefore  nobody  can  be  sur- 
prised if  the  poor  wife  bristles  up  and  gives  her  lord  and  master 
a  taste  of  tongue.  Nothing  tries  married  love  more  than  the 
pothouse.  Wages  wasted,  wife  neglected,  children  in  rags  :  if  she 
gives  it  him  hot  and  strong,  who  can  blame  her?  Pitch  into  him, 
good  woman,  and  make  him  ashamed  of  himself,  if  you  can.  No 
wonder  that  you  lead  a  cat-and-dog  life  while  he  is  such  a  sorry 
dog. 

Still,  you  might  as  well  go  home  and  set  him  a  better  example, 
for  two  blacks  will  never  make  a  white,  and  if  you  put  him  in  hot 
water  he  's  sure  to  get  some  spirits  to  mix  with  it. 


A   GOOD  WORD   FOR   WIVES. 

We  pulled  up  the  horses  at  the  sign  of  the  "  Good  Woman ;  " 
and  as  there  is  good  entertainment  for  man,  if  not  for  beast,  under 
that  sign,  we  will  make  a  stay  of  it,  and  dip  our  pen  into  some  of 
that  superfine  ink  which  has  no  galls  in  it.  When  he  writes  on  so 
fair  a  subject,  John  Ploughman  must  be  on  his  best  behavior. 

26 


402  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

It  is  astonishing  how  many  old  sayings  there  are  against  wives: 
you  may  find  nineteen  to  the  dozen  of  them.  The  men  years  ago 
showed  the  rough  side  of  their  tongues  whenever  they  spoke  of 
their  spouses.  Some  of  these  sayings  are  downright  shocking; 
as,  for  instance,  that  very  wicked  one,  "  Every  man  has  two  good 
days  with  his  wife,  —  the  day  he  marries  her  and  the  day  he  buries 
her;  "  and  that  other,  "  He  that  loseth  his  wife  and  a  farthing,  has 
a  great  loss  of  the  farthing." 

I  recollect  an  old  ballad  that  Gaffer  Brooks  used  to  sing  about 
a  man's  being  better  hung  than  married ;  it  shows  how  common 
it  was  to  abuse  the  married  life.  It  is  almost  too  bad  to  print  it; 
but  here  it  is  as  near  as  I  remember  it,  — 

"  There  was  a  victim  in  a  cart, 
One  day  for  to  be  hanged, 
And  his  reprieve  was  granted, 
And  the  cart  made  for  to  stand. 

"  '  Come,  marry  a  wife  and  save  your  life,' 
The  judge  aloud  did  cry ; 
'  Oh,  why  should  I  corrupt  my  life  ?  ' 
The  victim  did  reply. 

"  *  For  here  's  a  crowd  of  every  sort, 

And  why  should  I  prevent  their  sport  ? 
The  bargain  's  bad  in  every  part. 

The  wife  's  the  worst,  —  drive  on  the  cart.'  " 

Now  this  rubbish  does  not  prove  that  the  women  are  bad,  but 
that  their  husbands  are  good  for  nothing,  or  else  they  would  not 
make  up  such  abominable  slanders  about  their  partners.  The 
rottenest  bough  cracks  first,  and  it  looks  as  if  the  male  side  of 
the  house  was  the  worse  of  the  two,  for  it  certainly  has  made  up 
the  most  grumbling  proverbs.  There  have,  no  doubt,  been  some 
shockingly  bad  wives  in  the  world,  who  have  been  provoking 
enough  to  make  a  man  say,  — 

"  If  a  woman  were  as  little  as  she  is  good, 

A  peashell  would  make  her  a  gown  and  a  hood." 

But  how  many  thousands  have  there  been  of  true  helpmeets, 
worth  far  more  than  their  weight  in  gold  !  There  is  only  one 
Job's  wife  mentioned   in  the  Bible  and  one  Jezebel,  but  there  are 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  403 

no  end  of  Sarahs  and  Rebckahs.  I  am  of  Solomon's  mind,  that, 
as  a  rule,  he  that  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing.  If  there  's 
one  bad  shilling  taken  at  the  grocer's,  all  the  neighbors  hear  of  it, 
but  of  the  hundreds  of  good  ones  report  says  nothing.  A  good 
woman  makes  no  noise,  and  no  noise  is  made  about  her;  but  a 
shrew  is  noted  all  over  the  parish.  Taking  them  for  all  in  all,  they 
are  most  angelical  creatures,  and  a  great  deal  too  good  for  half 
the  husbands. 

It  is  much  to  the  women's  credit  that  there  are  very  few  old 
sayings  against  husbands,  although  in  this  case  sauce  for  the  goose 
would  make  capital  sauce  for  the  gander;  and  the  mare  has  as 
good  reasons  for  kicking  as  the  horse  has.  They  must  be  very 
forbearing,  or  they  would  have  given  the  men  a  Roland  for  every 
Oliver.  Pretty  dears,  they  may  be  rather  quick  in  their  talk,  but 
is  it  not  the  nature  of  bells  and  belles  to  have  tongues  that  swing 
easy?  They  cannot  be  so  very  bad  after  all,  or  they  would  have 
had  their  revenge  for  the  many  cruel  things  which  are  said  against 
them ;  and  if  they  are  a  bit  masterful,  their  husbands  cannot  be 
such  very  great  victims,  or  they  would  surely  have  sense  enough 
to  hold  their  tongues  about  it.  Men  don't  care  to  have  it  known 
when  they  are  thoroughly  well  henpecked,  and  I  feel  pretty  cer- 
tain that  the  old  sayings  are  nothing  but  chaff,  for  if  they  were 
true  men  would  never  dare  to  own  it. 

A  true  wife  is  her  husband's  better  half,  his  lump  of  delight, 
his  flower  of  beauty,  his  guardian  angel,  and  his  heart's  treasure. 
He  says  to  her :  "  I  shall  in  thee  most  happy  be.  In  thee,  my 
choice,  I  do  rejoice.  In  thee  I  find  content  of  mind.  God's 
appointment  is  my  contentment."  In  her  company  he  finds  his 
earthly  heaven ;  she  is  the  light  of  his  home,  the  comfort  of  his 
soul,  and  (for  this  world)  the  soul  of  his  comfort.  Whatever 
fortune  God  may  send  him,  he  is  rich  so  long  as  she  lives.  His 
rib  is  the  best  bone  in  his  body. 

The  man  who  weds  a  loving  wife, 
Whate'er  betideth  him  in  life. 

Shall  bear  up  under  all ; 
But  he  that  finds  an  evil  mate, 
No  good  can  come  within  his  gate, 

His  cup  is  fill'd  with  gall. 


404  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

A  good  husband  makes  a  good  wife.  Some  men  can  neither  do 
without  wives  nor  with  them ;  they  are  wretched  alone  in  what  is 
called  single  blessedness,  and  they  make  their  homes  miserable 
when  they  get  married ;  they  are  like  Tompkin's  dog,  which  could 
not  bear  to  be  loose,  and  howled  when  it  was  tied  up.  Happy 
bachelors  are  likely  to  be  happy  husbands,  and  a  happy  husband 
is  the  happiest  of  men.  A  well-matched  couple  carry  a  joyful 
life  between  them,  as  the  two  spies  carried  the  cluster  of  Eshcol. 
They  are  a  brace  of  birds  of  Paradise.  They  multiply  their  joys 
by  sharing  them,  and  lessen  their  troubles  by  dividing  them :  this 
is  fine  arithmetic.  The  wagon  of  care  rolls  lightly  along  as  they 
pull  together;  and  when  it  drags  a  little  heavily,  or  there's  a 
hitch  anywhere,  they  love  each  other  all  the  more,  and  so  lighten 
the  labor. 

When  a  couple  fall  out,  there  are  always  faults  on  both  sides, 
and  generally  there  is  a  pound  on  one  and  sixteen  ounces  on  the 
other.  When  a  home  is  miserable,  it  is  as  often  the  husband's 
fault  as  the  wife's.  Darby  is  as  much  to  blame  as  Joan,  and 
sometimes  more.  If  the  husband  won't  keep  sugar  in  the  cup- 
board, no  wonder  his  wife  gets  sour.  Want  of  bread  makes  want 
of  love ;  lean  dogs  fight.  Poverty  generally  rides  home  on  the 
husband's  back,  for  it  is  not  often  the  woman's  place  to  go  out 
working  for  wages.  A  man  down  our  parts  gave  his  wife  a  ring 
with  this  on  it:  "If  thee  don't  work,  thee  sha'n't  eat."  He  was 
a  brute.  It  is  no  business  of  hers  to  bring  in  the  grist,  —  she  is 
to  see  it  is  well  used  and  not  wasted ;  therefore,  I  say,  short  com- 
mons are  not  her  fault.  She  is  not  the  bread-winner,  but  the 
bread-maker.  She  earns  more  at  home  than  any  wages  she  can 
get  abroad. 

It  is  not  the  wife  who  smokes  and  drinks  away  the  wages  at  the 
"Brown  Bear"  or  the  "Jolly  Topers."  One  sees  a  drunken  woman 
now  and  then,  and  it's  an  awful  sight;  but  in  ninety-nine  cases 
out  of  a  hundred  it  is  the  man  who  comes  home  tipsy  and  abuses 
the  children,  —  the  woman  seldom  does  that.  The  poor  drudge  of 
a  wife  is  a  teetotaler,  whether  she  likes  it  or  no,  and  gets  plenty 
of  hot  water  as  well  as  cold.  Women  are  found  fault  with  for  often 
looking  into  the  glass,  but  that  is  not  so  bad  a  glass  as  men  drown 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES."  405 

their  senses  in.  The  wives  do  not  sit  boozing  over  the  taproom  fire  ; 
they,  poor  souls,  are  shivering  at  home  with  the  baby,  watching 
the  clock  (if  there  is  one),  wondering  when  their  lords  and  masters 
will  come  home,  and  crying  while  they  wait.  I  wonder  they  don't 
strike.  Some  of  them  are  about  as  wretched  as  a  cockchafer  on  a 
pin,  or  a  mouse  in  a  cat's  mouth.  They  have  to  nurse  the  sick  girl, 
and  wash  the  dirty  boy,  and  bear  with  the  crying  and  noise  of  the 
children,  while  his  lordship  puts  on  his  hat,  lights  his  pipe,  and 
goes  off  about  his  own  pleasure,  or  comes  in  at  his  own  time  to 
find  fault  with  his  poor  dame  for  not  getting  him  a  fine  supper. 
How  could  he  expect  to  be  fed  like  a  fighting-cock,  when  he 
brought  home  so  little  money  on  Saturday  night,  and  spends  so 
much  in  worshipping  Sir  John  Barleycorn?  I  say  it,  I  know  it, 
there's  many  a  house  where  there  would  be  no  scolding  wife  if  there 
was  not  a  skulking,  guzzling  husband.  Fellows  not  fit  to  be  cut 
up  for  mops  drink  and  drink  till  all  is  blue,'  and  then  turn  on  their 
poor  hacks  for  not  having  more  to  give  them.  Don't  tell  me,  I 
say  it  and  will  maintain  it,  a  woman  can't  help  being  vexed  when 
with  all  her  mending  and  striving  she  can't  keep  house,  because 
her  husband  won't  let  her.  It  would  provoke  any  of  us  if  we  had 
to  make  bricks  without  straw,  keep  the  pot  boiling  without  fire, 
and  pay  the  piper  out  of  an  empty  purse.  What  can  she  get  out 
of  the  oven  when  she  has  neither  meal  nor  dough?  You  bad 
husbands,  you  are  thoroughbred  sneaks,  and  ought  be  hung  up 
by  your  heels  till  you  know  better. 

They  say  a  man  of  straw  is  worth  a  woman  of  gold,  but  I  can- 
not swallow  it;  a  man  of  straw  is  worth  no  more  than  a  woman 
of  straw,  let  old  sayings  lie  as  they  like.  Jack  is  no  better  than 
Jill,  as  a  rule.  When  there  is  wisdom  in  the  husband,  there  's  gen- 
erally gentleness  in  the  wife,  and  between  them  the  old  wedding 
wish  is  worked  out:  "One  year  of  joy,  another  of  comfort,  and 
all  the  rest  of  content."  Where  hearts  agree,  there  joy  will  be. 
United  hearts  death  only  parts.  They  say  marriage  is  not  often 
merry-age,  but  very  commonly  mar-age ;  well,  if  so,  the  coat  and 
waistcoat  have  as  much  to  do  with  it  as  the  gown  and  petticoat. 
The  honeymoon  need  not  come  to  an  end ;  and  when  it  does,  it  is 
often  the  man's  fault  for  eating  all  the  honey,  and  leaving  nothing 


406  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

but  moonshine ;  when  they  both  agree  that  whatever  becomes  of 
the  moon  they  will  each  keep  up  their  share  of  honey,  there  's  merry 
living.  When  a  man  dwells  under  the  sign  of  the  cat's  foot,  where 
faces  get  scratched,  either  his  wife  did  not  marry  a  man,  or  he  did 
not  marry  a  woman.  If  a  man  cannot  take  care  of  himself,  his 
wit  must  be  as  scant  as  the  wool  of  a  blue  dog.  I  don't  pity  most 
of  the  men  martyrs ;  I  save  my  pity  for  the  women.  When  the 
Dunmow-flitch  is  lost,  neither  of  the  pair  will  eat  the  bacon ;  but 
the  wife  is  the  most  likely  to  fast  for  the  want  of  it.  Every  herring 
must  hang  by  its  own  gill,  and  every  person  must  account  for  his 
own  share  in  home  quarrels ;  but  John  Ploughman  can't  bear  to 
see  all  the  blame  laid  on  the  women.  Whenever  a  dish  is  broke 
the  cat  did  it,  and  whenever  there  is  mischief,  there  's  a  woman  at 
the  bottom  of  it :  here  are  two  as  pretty  lies  as  you  will  meet  with  in 
a  month's  march.  There  's  a  why  for  every  wherefore,  but  the  why 
for  family  jars  does  not  always  lie  with  the  housekeeper.  I  know 
some  women  have  long  tongues,  then  the  more  's  the  pity  that  their 
husbands  should  set  them  going;  but  for  the  matter  of  talk,  just 
look  into  a  bar  parlor  when  the  men's  jaws  are  well  oiled  with 
liquor,  and  if  any  women  living  can  talk  faster  or  be  more  stupid 
than  the  men,  my  name  is  not  John  Ploughman. 

When  I  had  got  about  as  far  as  this,  in  stepped  our  minister,  and 
he  said,  "John,  you  've  got  a  tough  subject,  a  cut  above  you  ;  I  '11 
lend  you  a  rare  old  book  to  help  you  over  the  stile."  "Well, 
sir,"  said  I,  "  a  little  help  is  w^orth  a  great  deal  of  fault-finding,  and 
I  shall  be  uncommonly  obliged  to  you."  He  sent  me  down  old 
William  Seeker's  "  Wedding  Ring,"  and  a  real  wise  fellow  that 
Seeker  was.  I  could  not  do  any  other  than  pick  out  some  of  his 
pithy  bits ;  they  are  very  flavory,  and  such  as  are  likely  to  glue 
themselves  to  the  memory.  He  says :  "  Hast  thou  a  soft  heart?  It 
is  of  God's  breaking.  Hast  thou  a  sweet  wife?  She  is  of  God's 
making.  The  Hebrews  have  a  saying,  '  He  is  not  a  man  that  hath 
not  a  woman.'  Though  man  alone  may  be  good,  yet  it  is  not  good 
that  man  should  be  alone.  '  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift 
is  from  above.'  A  wife,  though  she  be  not  a  perfect  gift,  is  a  good 
gift,  a  beam  darted  from  the  Sun  of  mercy.  How  happy  are  those 
marriages  where  Christ  is  at    the   wedding !     Let  none  but  those 


"  JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK  "   AND    "  PICTURES."  407 

who  liave  found  favor  in  God's  eyes,  find  favor  in  yours.  Hus- 
bands should  spread  a  mantle  of  charity  over  their  wives'  infirmi- 
ties. Do  not  put  out  the  candle  because  of  the  snuff.  Husbands 
and  wives  should  provoke  one  another  to  love,  and  they  should 
love  one  another  notwithstanding  provocations.  The  tree  of  love 
should  grow  up  in  the  midst  of  the  family  as  the  tree  of  life  grew 
in  the  garden  of  Eden.  Good  servants  are  a  great  blessing ;  good 
children  a  greater  blessing;  but  a  good  wife  is  the  greatest  bless- 
ing; and  such  a  help  let  him  seek  for  her  that  wants  one;  let  him 
sigh  for  her  that  hath  lost  one ;  let  him  delight  in  her  that  enjoys 
one." 

To  come  down  from  the  old  Puritan's  roast  beef  to  my  own  pot 
herbs,  or,  as  they  say,  to  put  Jack  after  gentleman,  I  will  tell  my 
own  experience,  and  have  done. 

My  experience  of  my  first  wife,  who  will,  I  hope,  live  to  be  my 
last,  is  much  as  follows:  matrimony  came  from  Paradise,  and  leads 
to  it.  I  never  was  half  so  happy  before  I  was  a  married  man  as  I 
am  now.  When  you  are  married,  your  bliss  begins.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  where  there  is  much  love  there  will  be  much  to  love, 
and  where  love  is  scant  faults  will  be  plentiful.  If  there  is  only 
one  good  wife  in  England,  I  am  the  man  who  put  the  ring  on 
her  finger,  and  long  may  she  wear  it !  God  bless  the  dear  soul ! 
if  she  can  put  up  witJi  me,  she  shall  never  be  put  down  by  me. 

If  I  were  not  married  to-day,  and  saw  a  suitable  partner,  I 
would  be  married  to-morrow  morning  before  breakfast.  What 
think  you  of  that?  "  Why,"  says  one,  "  I  think  John  would  get  a 
new  wife  if  he  were  left  a  widower."  Well,  and  what  if  he  did, 
how  could  he  better  show  that  he  was  happy  with  his  first?  I 
declare  I  would  not  say  as  some  do,  that  they  married  to  have 
some  one  to  look  after  the  children ;  I  should  marry  to  have  some 
one  to  look  after  myself.  John  Ploughman  is  a  sociable  soul,  and 
could  not  do  in  a  house  by  himself.  One  man,  when  he  married 
his  fourth  wife,  put  on  the  ring, — 

"  If  I  survive,  I  'II  make  it  five." 

What  an  old  Bluebeard  !  Marriages  are  made  in  heaven ;  matri- 
mony in  itself  is   good,  but  there  are   fools   who  turn   meat  into 


408  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C,    H.    SPURGEON. 

poison,  and  make  a  blessing  into  a  curse.  "  This  is  a  good  rope," 
said  Pedley,  "  I  '11  hang  myself  with  it."  A  man  who  has  sought 
his  wife  from  God,  and  married  her  for  her  character,  and  not 
merely  for  her  figure-head,  may  look  for  a  blessing  on  his  choice. 
They  who  join  their  love  in  God  above,  who  pray  to  love  and 
love  to  pray,  will  find  that  love  and  joy  will  never  cloy. 

He  who  respects  his  wife  will  find  that  she  respects  him.  With 
what  measure  he  metes,  it  shall  be  measured  to  him  again,  good 
measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over.  He  who  consults  his 
spouse  will  have  a  good  counsellor.  I  have  heard  our  minister 
say,  "  Women's  instincts  are  often  truer  than  man's  reason ;  "  they 
jump  at  a  thing  at  once,  and  they  are  wise  off-hand.  Say  what 
you  will  of  your  wife's  advice,  it 's  as  likely  as  not  you  will  be  sorry 
you  did  not  take  it.  He  who  speaks  ill  of  women  should  remem- 
ber the  breast  he  was  nursed  at,  and  be  ashamed  of  himself.  He 
who  ill  treats  his  wife  ought  to  be  whipped  at  the  cart-tail,  and 
would  not  I  like  a  cut  at  him !  I  would  just  brush  a  fly  or  two 
off,  trust  me  for  that.  So  no  more  at  present,  as  the  thatcher  said 
when  he  had  cleared  every  dish  on  the  table. 


STICK    TO    IT  AND    DO    IT. 

Set  a  stout  heart  to  a  stiff  hill,  and  the  wagon  will  get  to  the 
top  of  it.  There  's  nothing  so  hard  but  a  harder  thing  will  get 
through  it;  a  strong  job  can  be  managed  by  a  strong  resolution. 
Have  at  it  and  have  it.  Stick  to  it  and  succeed.  Till  a  thing  is 
done,  men  wonder  that  you  think  it  can  be  done,  and  when  you 
have  done  it  they  wonder  it  was  never  done  before. 

In  my  picture  the  wagon  is  drawn  by  two  horses ;  but  I  would 
have  every  man  who  wants  to  make  his  way  in  life  pull  as  if  all 
depended  on  himself.  Very  little  is  done  right  when  it  is  left  to 
other  people.  The  more  hands  to  do  work  the  less  there  is  done. 
One  man  will  carry  two  pails  of  water  for  himself;  two  men  will 
only  carry  one  pail  between  them ;   and  three  will  come  home  with 


JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK  "   AND   "  PICTURES." 


409 


never  a  drop  at  all.  A  child  with  several  mothers  will  die  before 
it  runs  alone.  Know  your  business  and  give  your  mind  to  it, 
and  you  will  find  a  buttered  loaf  where  a  sluggard  loses  his  last 
crust. 

In  these  times  it 's  no  use  being  a  farmer  if  you  don't  mean 
work.     The  days  are  gone  by  for  gentlemen  to  make  a  fortune  off 


of  a  farm  by  going  out  shooting  half  their  tiitie.  If  foreign 
wheats  keep  on  coming  in,  farmers  will  soon  learn  that, — 

"  He  who  by  the  plough  would  thrive, 
Himself  must  either  hold  or  drive." 

Going  to  Australia  is  of  no  use  to  a  man  if  he  carries  a  set  of  lazy 
bones  with  him.  There 's  a  living  to  be  got  in  old  England  at 
almost  any  trade  if  a  fellow  will  give  his  mind  to  it.  A  man  who 
works  hard  and  has  his  health  and  strength  is  a  great  deal  hap- 
pier than  my  lord  Tom  Noddy,  who  does  nothing  and  is  always 
ailing.  Do  you  know  the  old  song  of  "  The  Nobleman's  Generous 
Kindness"?  You  should  hear  our  Will  sing  it.  I  recollect  some 
of  the  verses.  The  first  one  gives  a  picture  of  the  hard-working 
laborer  with  a  large  family,  — 


4IO  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

"  Thus  careful  and  constant,  each  morning  he  went, 
Unto  his  day  labor  with  joy  and  content  ; 
So  jocular  and  jolly  he  'd  whistle  and  sing. 
As  blithe  and  as  brisk  as  tiie  birds  in  the  spring." 

The  other  Hnes  are  the  ploughman's  own  story  of  how  he  spent 
his  life,  and  I  wish  that  all  countrymen  could  say  the  same. — 

"  I  reap  and  I  mow,  I  harrow  and  I  sow, 
Sometimes  a-hedging  and  ditchmg  I  go  ; 
No  work  comes  amiss,  for  I  thrash  and  I  plough. 
Thus  my  bread  I  do  earn  by  the  sweat  of  my  brow. 

"  My  wife  she  is  willing  to  pull  in  a  yoke, 
We  live  like  two  lambs,  nor  each  other  provoke; 
We  both  of  us  strive,  like  the  laboring  ant. 
And  do  our  endeavors  to  keep  us  from  want. 

"  And  when  I  come  home  from  my  labor  at  night, 
To  my  wife  and  my  children  in  wiiom  I  delight, 
I  see  them  come  round  me  with  prattling  noise. 
Now  these  are  the  riches  a  poor  man  enjoys. 

"Though  I  am  as  weary  as  weary  may  be, 
The  youngest  I  commonly  dance  on  my  knee  ; 
I  find  in  content  a  continual  feast, 
And  never  repine  at  my  lot  in  the  least." 

So,  you  see,  the  poor  laborer  may  work  hard  and  be  happy  all 
the  same ;  and  surely  those  who  are  in  higher  stations  may  do  the 
like  if  they  like. 

He  is  a  sorry  dog  who  wants  game  and  will  not  hunt  for  it:  let 
us  never  lie  down  in  idle  despair,  but  follow  on  till  we  succeed.. 

Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day,  nor  much  else,  unless  it  be  a  dog- 
kcnnel.  Things  which  cost  no  pains  are  slender  gains.  Where 
there  has  been  little  sweat  there  will  be  little  sweet.  Jonah's 
gourd  came  up  in  a  night,  but  then  it  perished  in  a  night.  Light 
come,  light  go ;  that  which  flies  in  at  one  window  will  be  likely  to 
fly  out  at  another.  It 's  a  very  lean  hare  that  hounds  catch  with- 
out running  for  it,  and  a  sheep  that  is  no  trouble  to  shear  has  very 
little  wool.  For  this  reason  a  man  who  cannot  push  on  against 
wind  and  weather  stands  a  poor  chance  in  this  world. 

Perseverance  is  the  main  thing  in  life.     To  hold  on,  and  hold 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  41  I 

out  to  the  end,  is  the  chief  matter.  If  the  race  could  be  won  by 
a  spurt,  thousands  would  wear  the  blue  ribbon ;  but  they  are 
short-winded,  and  pull  up  after  the  first  gallop.  They  begin  with 
flying,  and  end  in  crawling  backward.  When  it  comes  to  collar 
work,  many  horses  turn  to  jobbing.  If  the  apples  do  not  fall  at 
the  first  shake  of  the  tree,  your  hasty  folks  are  too  lazy  to  fetch  a 
ladder,  and  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to  wait  till  the  fruit  is  ripe 
enough  to  fall  of  itself.  The  hasty  man  is  as  hot  as  fire  at  the 
outset,  and  as  cold  as  ice  at  the  end.  He  is  like  the  Irishman's 
saucepan,  which  had  many  good  points  about  it,  but  it  had  no 
bottom.  He  who  cannot  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  i« 
not  worth  his  salt,  much  less  his  potatoes. 

Before  you  begin  a  thing,  make  sure  it  is  the  right  thing  to  do: 
ask  Mr.  Conscience  about  it.  Do  not  try  to  do  what  is  impossible : 
ask  Common  Sense.  It  is  of  no  use  to  blow  against  a  hurricane, 
or  to  fish  for  whales  in  a  washing-tub.  Better  give  up  a  foolish 
plan  than  go  on  and  burn  your. fingers  with  it:  better  bend  your 
neck  than  knock  your  forehead.  But  when  you  have  once  made 
up  your  mind  to  go  a  certain  road,  don't  let  every  molehill  turn 
you  out  of  the  path.  One  stroke  fells  not  an  oak.  Chop  away, 
axe,  you  '11  down  with  the  tree  at  last !  A  bit  of  iron  does  not 
soften  the  moment  you  put  it  into  the  fire.  Blow,  smith  !  Put  on 
more  coals !  Get  it  red  hot  and  hit  hard  with  the  hammer,  and 
you  will  make  a  ploughshare  yet.  Steady  does  it.  Hold  on,  and 
you  have  it !  Brag  is  a  fine  fellow  at  crying  "  Tally-ho  !  "  but 
Perseverance  brings  home  the  brush. 

We  ought  not  to  be  put  out  of  heart  by  difficulties :  they  are 
sent  on  purpose  to  try  the  stuft"  we  are  made  of;  and  depend 
upon  it  they  do  us  a  world  of  good.  There  's  a  sound  reason 
why  there  are  bones  in  our  meat  and  stones  in  our  land.  A  world 
where  everything  was  easy  would  be  a  nursery  for  babies,  but  not 
at  all  a  fit  place  for  men.  Celery  is  not  sweet  till  it  has  felt  a 
frost,  and  men  don't  come  to  their  perfection  till  disappointment 
has  dropped  a  half-hundred  weight  or  two  on  their  toes.  Who 
would  know  good  horses  if  there  were  no  heavy  loads?  If  the 
clay  was  not  stiff,  my  old  Dapper  and  Violet  would  be  thought  no 
more  of  than  Tomkins's  donkey.    Besides,  to  work  hard  for  success 


412  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

makes  us  fit  to  bear  it :  we  enjoy  the  bacon  all  the  more  because 
we  have  got  an  appetite  by  earning  it.  When  prosperity  pounces 
on  a  man  like  an  eagle,  it  often  throws  him  down.  If  we  overtake 
the  cart,  it  is  a  fine  thing  to  get  up  and  ride ;  but  when  it  comes 
behind  us  at  a  tearing  rate,  it  is  very  apt  to  knock  us  down  and 
run  over  us,  and  when  we  are  lifted  into  it  we  find  our  leg  is 
broken,  or  our  arm  out  of  joint,  and  we  cannot  enjoy  the  ride. 
Work  is  always  healthier  for  us  than  idleness ;  it  is  always  better 
to  wear  out  shoes  than  sheets.  I  sometimes  think,  when  I  put  on 
my  considering  cap,  that  success  in  life  is  something  like  getting 
married  :  there  's  a  very  great  deal  of  pleasure  in  the  courting,  and 
it  is  not  a  bad  thing  when  it  is  a  moderate  time  on  the  road. 
Therefore,  young  man,  learn  to  wait,  and  work  on.  Don't  throw 
away  your  rod,  the  fish  will  bite  some  time  or  other.  The  cat 
watches  long  at  the  hole,  but  catches  the  mouse  at  last.  The 
spider  mends  her  broken  web,  and  the  flies  are  taken  before  long. 
Stick  to  your  calling,  plod  on,  and  be  content;  for,  make  sure,  if 
you  can  undergo  you  shall  overcome. 

If  bad  be  your  prospects,  don't  sit  still  and  cry. 
But  jump  up,  and  say  to  yourself,  *'  I  will  try." 

Miracles  will  never  cease !  My  neighbor,  Simon  Gripper,  was 
taken  generous  about  three  months  ago.  The  story  is  well  worth 
telling.  He  saw  a  poor  blind  man,  led  by  a  little  girl,  playing  on 
a  fiddle.  His  heart  was  touched,  for  a  wonder.  He  said  to  me, 
"  Ploughman,  lend  me  a  penny,  there  's  a  good  fellow."  I  fumbled 
in  my  pocket,  and  found  two  halfpence,  and  handed  them  to  him. 
More  fool  I,  for  he  will  never  pay  me  again.  He  gave  the  blind 
fiddler  one  of  those  halfpence,  and  kept  the  other,  and  I  have  not 
seen  either  Gripper  or  my  penny  since,  nor  shall  I  get  the  money 
back  till  the  gate-post  outside  my  garden  grows  Ribstone  pippins. 
There  's  generosity  for  you  !  The  old  saying  which  is  put  at  the 
top  of  this  bit  of  my  talk  brought  him  into  my  mind,  for  he  sticks 
to  it  most  certainly :  he  lives  as  badly  as  a  church-mouse,  and 
works  as  hard  as  if  he  was  paid  by  the  piece  and  had  twenty 
children  to  keep ;  but  I  would  no  more  hold  him  up  for  an  ex- 
ample than  I  would  show  a  toad  as  a  specimen  of  a  pretty  bird. 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES,"  413 

While  I  talk  to  you  young  people  about  getting  on,  I  don't  want 
you  to  think  that  hoarding  up  money  is  real  success ;  nor  do  I 
wish  you  to  rise  an  inch  above  an  honest  ploughman's  lot,  if  it 
cannot  be  done  without  being  mean  or  wicked.  The  workhouse, 
prison  as  it  is,  is  a  world  better  than  a  mansion  built  by  roguery 
and  greed.  If  you  cannot  get  on  honestly,  be  satisfied  not  to  get 
on.  The  blessing  of  God  is  riches  enough  for  a  wise  man,  and  all 
the  world  is  not  enough  for  a  fool.  Old  Gripper's  notion  of  how 
to  prosper  has,  I  dare  say,  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  it,  and  the 
more  's  the  pity.  The  Lord  deliver  us  from  such  a  prospering,  I 
say.  That  old  sinner  has  often  hummed  these  lines  into  my  ears 
when  we  have  got  into  an  argument,  and  very  pretty  lines  they 
are  7iot,  certainly :  — 

"  To  win  the  prize  in  the  world's  great  race, 
A  man  should  have  a  brazen  face  ; 
An  iron  arm  to  give  a  stroke, 
And  a  heart  as  sturdy  as  an  oak ; 
Eyes  like  a  cat,  good  in  the  dark, 
And  teeth  as  piercing  as  a  shark  ; 
Ears  to  hear  the  gentlest  sound, 
Like  moles  that  burrow  in  the  ground  ; 
A  mouth  as  close  as  patent  locks. 
And  stomach  stronger  than  an  ox ; 
His  tongue  should  be  a  razor-blade. 
His  conscience  india-rubber  made  ; 
His  blood  as  cold  as  polar  ice, 
His  hand  as  gra'sping  as  a  vice. 
His  shoulders  should  be  adequate 
To  bear  a  couple  thousand  weight; 
His  legs,  like  pillars,  firm  and  strong, 
To  move  the  great  machine  along  ; 
With  supple  knees  to  cringe  and  crawl. 
And  cloven  feet  placed  under  all." 

It  amounts  to  this :  Be  a  devil  in  order  to  be  happy.  Sell  yourself 
outright  to  the  old  dragon,  and  he  will  give  you  the  world  and 
the  glory  thereof.  But  remember  the  question  of  the  old  Book : 
"  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose 
his  own  soul?" 


414  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


MEN   WITH   TWO   FACES. 

Even  bad  men  praise  consistency.  Thieves  like  honest  men, 
for  they  are  the  best  to  rob.  When  you  know  where  to  find  a 
man,  he  has  one  good  point  at  any  rate ;  but  a  fellow  who  howls 
with  the  wolves,  and  bleats  with  the  sheep,  gets  nobody's  good 
word,  unless  it  be  the  devil's.  To  carry  two  faces  under  one  hat  is, 
however,  very  common.  Many  roost  with  the  poultry,  and  go 
shares  with  Reynard.  Many  look  as  if  butter  would  not  melt  in 
their  mouths,  and  yet  can  spit  fire  when  it  suits  their  purpose.  I 
read  the  other  day  an  advertisement  about  reversible  coats :  the 
tailor  who  sells  them  must  be  making  a  fortune.  Holding  with 
the  hare  and  running  with  the  hounds  is  still  in  fashion.  Consis- 
tency is  about  as  scarce  in  the  world  as  musk  in  a  dog-kennel. 

You  may  trust  some  men  as  far  as  you  can  see  them,  but  no 

further,  for  new  company  makes  them  new  men.    Like  water,  they 

boil  or  freeze  according  to  the  temperature.    Some  do  this  because 

they  have  no  principles ;  they  are  of  the  weathercock  persuasion, 

and  turn  with  the  wind.     You  might  as  well  measure  the  moon  for 

a  suit  of  clothes  as  know  what  they  are.      They  believe  in  that 

which  pays   best.      They  always  put  up  at  the   Golden   Fleece. 

Their  mill  grinds   any  grist  which  you  bring  to  it  if  the  ready 

money  is  forthcoming;   and  they  go  with  every  wind,  north,  south, 

east,  west,   northeast,    northwest,   southeast,   southwest,  nor'-nor'- 

east,  southwest-by-south,   or   any  other  in  all  the  world.      Like 

frogs,  they  can  live  on  land  or  water,  and  are  not  at  all  particular 

which  it  is.     Like  a  cat,  they  always  fall  on  their  feet,  and  will  stop 

anywhere  if  you  butter  their  toes.     They  love  their  friends  dearly, 

but  their  love  lies  in  the  cupboard,   and   if  that  be  bare,  like   a 

mouse,  their  love  runs  off  to  some  other  larder.    They  say,  "  Leave 

you,  dear  girl?      Never,  while  you  have   a  shilling."     How  they 

scuttle  off  if  you  come  to  the  bad  !     Like  rats,  they  leave  a  sinking 

ship. 

When  good  cheer  is  lacking, 
Such  friends  will  be  packing. 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK."   AND   "PICTURES."  415 

Their  heart  follows  the  pudding.  While  the  pot  boils  they  sit  by 
the  fire  ;  when  the  meal-tub  is  empty  they  play  at  turnabout. 
They  believe  in  the  winning  horse ;  they  will  wear  anybody's  coat 
who  may  choose  to  give  them  one ;  they  are  to  be  bought  by  the 
dozen,  like  mackerel,  but  he  who  gives  a  penny  for  them  wastes 
his  money.  Profit  is  their  god,  and  whether  they  make  it  out  of 
you  or  your  enemy,  the  money  is  just  as  sweet  to  them.  Heads 
or  tails  are  alike  to  them  so  long  as  they  win.  High  road  or  back 
lane,  all 's  the  same  to  them  so  that  they  can  get  home  with  the 
loaf  in  the  basket.  They  are  friends  to  the  goose,  but  they  will 
eat  his  giblets.  So  long  as  the  water  turns  their  wheel,  it  is  none 
the  worse  for  being  muddy ;  they  would  burn  their  mother's  coffin 
if  they  were  short  of  firing,  and  sell  their  own  father  if  they  could 
turn  a  penny  by  the  old  gentleman's  bones.  They  never  lose  a 
chance  of  minding  the  main  chance. 

Others  are  shifty  because  they  are  so  desperately  fond  of  good 
fellowship.  "  Hail  fellow,  well  met !  "  is  their  cry,  be  it  traveller 
or  highwayman.  They  are  so  good-natured  that  they  must  needs 
agree  with  everybody.  They  are  cousins  of  Mr.  Anything.  Their 
brains  are  in  other  people's  heads.  If  they  were  at  Rome  they 
would  kiss  the  Pope's  toe,  but  when  they  are  at  home  they  make 
themselves  hoarse  with  shouting,  "  No  Popery !  "  They  admire 
the  Vicar  of  Bray,  whose  principle  was  to  be  the  Vicar  of  Bray, 
whether  the  Church  was  Protestant  or  Popish.  They  are  mere  time- 
servers,  in  hopes  that  the  times  may  serve  them.  They  belong 
to  the  party  which  wears  the  yellow  colors,  not  in  their  button- 
holes, but  in  the  palms  of  their  hands.  Butter  them,  and,  like 
turnips,  you  may  eat  them.  Pull  the  rope,  and,  like  the  bells,  they 
will  ring  as  you  choose  to  make  them,  funeral  knell  or  wedding 
peal,  come  to  church  or  go  to  the  devil.  They  have  no  backbones  ; 
you  may  bend  them  like  willow  wands,  backwards  or  forwards, 
whichever  way  you  please.  Like  oysters,  anybody  may  pepper 
them  who  can  open  them.  Sweet  to  you  and  sweet  to  your 
enemy.  They  blow  hot  and  cold.  They  try  to  be  Jack-o'-both- 
sides,  and  deserve  to  be  kicked  like  a  football  by  both  parties. 

Some  are  hypocrites  by  nature ;  slippery  as  eels,  and  piebald 
like  Squire  Smoothey's  mare.     Like  a  drunken  man,  they  could 


4l6  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

not  walk  straight  if  they  were  to  try.  Like  corn-dealers,  they  are 
rogues  in-grain.  They  wind  in  and  out  like  a  Surrey  lane.  They 
were  born  of  the  breed  of  St.  Judas.  The  double  shuffle  is  their 
favorite  game,  and  honesty  their  greatest  hatred.  Honey  is  on  their 
tongue,  but  gall  in  their  hearts.  They  are  mongrel  bred,  like  the 
gypsy's  dog.  Like  a  cat's  feet,  they  show  soft  pads,  but  carry 
sharp  claws.  If  their  teeth  are  not  rotten,  their  tongues  are,  and 
their  hearts  are  like  dead  men's  graves.  If  speaking  the  truth  and 
lying  were  equally  profitable,  they  would  naturally  prefer  to  lie, 
for,  like  dirt  to  a  pig,  it  would  be  congenial.  They  fawn,  and 
flatter,  and  cringe,  and  scrape ;  for,  like  snails,  they  make  their 
way  by  their  slime ;  but  all  the  while  they  hate  you  in  their  hearts, 
and  only  wait  for  a  chance  to  stab  you.  Beware  of  those  who 
came  from  the  town  of  Deceit.  Mr.  Facing-both-ways,  Mr.  Fair- 
speech,  and  Mr.  Two-tongues  are  neighbors  who  are  best  at  a 
distance.  Though  they  look  one  way,  as  boatmen  do,  they  are 
pulling  the  other ;  they  are  false  as  the  devil's  promises,  and  as 
cruel  as  death  and  the  grave. 

Religious  deceivers  are  the  worst  of  vermin,  and  I  fear  they  are 
as  plentiful  as  rats  in  an  old  wheatstack. 

They  are  like  a  silver  pin, 
Fair  without  but  foul  within. 

They  cover  up  their  black  flesh  with  white  feathers.  Saturday  and 
Sunday  make  a  wonderful  difference  in  them.  They  have  the  fear 
of  the  minister  a  deal  more  before  their  eyes  than  the  fear  of  God. 
Their  religion  lies  in  imitating  the  religious ;  they  have  none  of 
the  root  of  the  matter  in  them.  They  carry  Dr.  Watts's  hymn- 
book  in  their  pocket,  and  sing  a  roaring  song  at  the  same  time. 
Their  Sunday  coats  are  the  best  part  about  them ;  the  nearer  you 
get  to  their  hearts  the  more  filth  you  will  find.  They  prate  like 
parrots,  but  their  talk  and  their  walk  do  not  agree.  Some  of  them 
are  fishing  for  customers,  and  a  little  pious  talk  is  a  cheap  adver- 
tisement ;  and  if  the  seat  at  the  church  or  the  meeting  costs  a 
trifle,  they  make  it  up  out  of  short  weights.  They  don't  worship 
God  while  they  trade,  but  they  trade  on  their  worship.  Others  of 
the  poorer  sort  go  to  church  for  soup  and  bread  and  coal  tickets. 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  417 

They  love  the  communion  because  of  the  alms'  money.  Some  of 
the  dear  old  Mrs.  Goodbodies  want  a  blessed  almshouse,  and  so 
they  profess  to  be  so  blessed  under  the  blessed  ministry  of  their 
blessed  pastor  every  blessed  Sabbath.  Charity  suits  them  if  faith 
does  not;  they  know  which  side  their  bread  is  buttered  on. 

Others  make  a  decent  show  in  religion  to  quiet  their  con- 
sciences; they  use  it  as  a  salve  for  their  wounds,  —  and  if  they 
could  satisfy  heaven  as  easily  as  they  quiet  themselves,  it  would 
be  a  fine  thing  for  them.  It  has  been  my  lot  to  meet  with  some 
who  went  a  long  way  in  profession,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  for 
nothing  but  the  love  of  being  thought  a  deal  of.  They  got  a  little 
knot  of  friends  to  believe  in  their  fine  talk,  and  take  all  in  for 
gospel  that  they  liked  to  say.  Their  opinion  was  the  true  measure 
of  a  preacher's  soundness ;  they  could  settle  up  everything  by 
their  own  know,  and  they  had  gallons  of  XXX  experience  for 
those  who  liked  something  hot  and  strong.  But  dear,  dear!  if 
they  had  but  condescended  to  show  a  little  Christian  practice 
as  well,  how  much  better  their  lives  would  have  weighed  up ! 
These  people  are  like  owls,  which  look  to  be  big  birds,  but  they 
are  not,  for  they  are  all  feathers ;  and  they  look  wonderfully  know- 
ing in  the  twilight,  but  when  the  light  comes  they  are  regular 
boobies. 

Hypocrites  of  all  sorts  are  abominable,  and  he  who  deals  with 
them  will  rue  it.  He  who  tries  to  cheat  the  Lord  will  be  quite 
ready  to  cheat  his  fellow  men.  Great  cry  generally  means  little 
wool.  Many  a  big  chimney  in  which  you  expect  to  see  bacon  and 
hams,  when  you  look  up  it,  has  nothing  to  show  you  but  its  empty 
hooks  and  black  soot.  Some  men's  windmills  are  only  nut- 
crackers—  their  elephants  are  nothing  but  sucking-pigs.  It  is  not 
all  who  go  to  church  or  meeting  that  truly  pray,  nor  those  who 
sing  loudest  that  praise  God  most,  nor  those  who  pull  the  longest 
faces  who  are  the  most  in  earnest. 

What  mean  animals  hypocrites  must  be !  Talk  of  polecats  and 
weasels,  they  are  nothing  to  them.  Better  be  a  dead  dog  than  a 
live  hypocrite.  Surely  when  the  devil  sees  hypocrites  at  their 
little  game,  it  must  be  as  good  as  a  play  to  him;  he  tempts 
genuine  Christians,  but  he  lets  these  alone,  because  he  is  sure  of 

27 


4l8  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

them.     He  need  not  shoot  at  lame  ducks ;   his  dog  can  pick  them 
up  any  day. 

Depend  upon  it,  friends,  if  a  straight  hne  will  not  pay,  a  crooked 
one  won't.  What  is  got  by  shuffling  is  very  dangerous  gain.  It 
may  give  a  moment's  peace  to  wear  a  mask,  but  deception  will 
come  home  to  you,  and  bring  sorrow  with  it.  Honesty  is  the  best 
policy.  If  the  lion's  skin  does  not  do,  never  try  the  fox's.  Be  as 
true  as  steel.  Let  your  face  and  hands,  like  the  church  clock, 
always  tell  how  your  inner  works  are  going.  Better  be  laughed  at 
as  Tom  Tell-truth  than  be  praised  as  Crafty  Charlie.  Plain  dealing 
may  bring  us  trouble,  but  it  is  better  than  shuffling.  At  the  last 
the  upright  will  have  their  reward ;  but  for  the  double-minded  to 
get  to  heaven  is  as  impossible  as  for  a  man  to  swim  across  the 
Atlantic  with  a  millstone  under  each  arm. 


ALL  IS  LOST  THAT  IS  POURED   INTO  A  CRACKED   DISH. 

Cook  is  wasting  her  precious  liquor,  for  it  runs  out  almost  as 
fast  as  it  runs  in.  The  sooner  she  stops  that  game  the  better. 
This  makes  me  think  of  a  good  deal  of  preaching;  it  is  labor  in 
vain,  because  it  does  not  stay  in  the  minds  of  the  hearers,  but 
goes  in  at  one  ear  and  out  at  the  other.  When  men  go  to  market 
they  are  all  alive  to  do  a  trade,  but  in  a  place  of  worship  they  are 
not  more  than  half  awake,  and  do  not  seem  to  care  whether  they 
profit  or  not  by  what  they  hear.  I  once  heard  a  preacher  say, 
"  Half  of  you  are  asleep,  half  are  inattentive,  and  the  rest  —  "  He 
never  finished  that  sentence,  for  the  people  began  to  smile,  and 
here  and  there  one  burst  out  laughing.  Certainly,  many  only  go 
to  meeting  to  stare  about. 

"  Attend  your  church,  the  parson  cries  : 
To  church  each  fair  one  goes  ; 
The  old  ones  go  to  close  their  eyes, 
The  young  to  eye  their  clothes." 

You  might  as  well  preach  to  the  stone  images  in  the  old  church 
as  to  people  who  are  asleep.     Some  old  fellows  come  into  our 


JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK      AND   "PICTURES. 


419 


meeting,  pitch  into  their  corner,  and  settle  themselves  down  for  a 
quiet  snooze  as  knowingly  as  if  the  pew  was  a  sleeping-car  on  the 
railway.  Still,  all  the  sleeping  at  service  is  not  the  fault  of  the 
poor  people,  for  some  parsons  put  a  lot  of  sleeping  stuff  into 
their  sermons.  Will  Shepherd  says  they  mesmerize  the  people. 
(I  think  that  is  the  right  word,  but  I  'm  not  sure.)     I  saw  a  verse 


in  a  real  live  book,  by  Mr.  Cheales,  the  vicar  of  Brockham,  a  place 
which  is  handy  to  my  home.     I  '11  give  it  you :  — 

"  The  ladies  praise  our  curate's  eyes  : 
1  never  see  their  hght  divine, 
For  when  he  prays  he  closes  them, 
And  when  he  preaches  closes  mine." 

Well,  if  curates  are  heavy  in  style,  the  people  will  soon  be  heavy 
in  sleep.  Even  when  hearers  are  awake,  many  of  them  are  for- 
getful. It  is  like  pouring  a  jug  of  ale  between  the  bars  of  a  grid- 
iron, to  try  and  teach  them  good  doctrine.  Water  on  a  duck's 
back  does  have  some  effect,  but  sermons  by  the  hundred  are  as 
much  lost  upon  many  men's  hearts  as  if  they  had  been  spoken  to 
a  kennel  of  hounds.     Preaching  to  some  fellows  is  like  whipping 


420  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  water  or  lashing  the  air.  As  well  talk  to  a  turnip,  or  whistle 
to  a  dead  donkey,  as  preach  to  these  dull  ears.  A  year's  ser- 
mons will  not  produce  an  hour's  repentance  till  the  grace  of  God 
comes  in. 

We  have  a  good  many  hangers-on  who  think  that  their  duty  to 
God  consists  in  hearing  sermons,  and  that  the  best  fruit  of  their 
hearing  is  to  talk  of  what  they  have  heard.  How  they  do  lay  the 
law  down  when  they  get  argifying  about  doctrines  !  Their  religion 
all  runs  to  ear  and  tongue :  neither  their  heart  nor  their  hand  is  a 
scrap  the  better.  This  is  poor  work,  and  will  never  pay  the  piper. 
The  sermon  which  only  gets  as  far  as  the  ear  is  like  a  dinner  eaten 
in  a  dream.  It  is  ill  to  lie  soaking  in  the  gospel  like  a  bit  of  coal 
in  a  milkpan,  never  the  whiter  for  it  all. 

What  can  be  the  good  of  being  hearers  only?  It  disappoints 
the  poor  preacher,  and  it  brings  no  blessing  to  the  man  himself. 
Looking  at  a  plum  won't  sweeten  your  mouth,  staring  at  a  coat 
won't  cover  your  back,  and  lying  on  the  bank  won't  catch  the  fish 
in  the  river.  The  cracked  dish  is  never  the  better  for  all  that  is 
poured  into  it :  it  is  like  our  forgetful  heart,  it  wants  to  be  taken 
away,  and  a  new  one  put  instead  of  it. 


TRY. 

Of  all  the  pretty  little  songs  I  have  ever  heard  my  youngsters 
sing,  that  is  one  of  the  best  which  winds  up,  — 

"  If  at  first  you  don't  succeed, 
Try,  try,  try  again." 

I  recommend  it  to  grown-up  people  who  are  down  in  the  mouth, 
and  fancy  that  the  best  thing  they  can  do  is  to  give  up.  Nobody 
knows  what  he  can  do  till  he  tries.  "  We  shall  get  through  it  now," 
said  Jack  to  Harry,  as  they  finished  up  the  pudding.  Everything 
new  is  hard  work,  but  a  little  of  the  "Try"  ointment  rubbed  on 
the  hand  and  worked  into  the  heart  makes  all  things  easy. 

Can't  do  it  sticks  in  the  mud,  but  Try  soon  drags  the  wagon 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES."  42 1 

out  of  the  rut.  The  fox  said  Try,  and  he  got  away  from  the 
hounds  when  they  almost  snapped  at  him.  The  bees  said  Try, 
and  turned  flowers  into  honey.  The  squirrel  said  Try,  and  up  he 
went  to  the  top  of  the  beech-tree.  The  snowdrop  said  Try,  and 
bloomed  in  the  cold  snows  of  winter.  The  sun  said  Try,  and  the 
spring  soon  threw  Jack  Frost  out  of  the  saddle.  The  young  lark 
said  Try,  and  he  found  his  new  wings  took  him  over  hedges  and 
ditches,  and  up  where  his  father  was  singing.  The  ox  said  Try, 
and  ploughed  the  field  from  end  to  end.  No  hill  too  steep  for  Try 
to  climb,  no  clay  too  stiff  for  Try  to  plough,  no  field  too  wet  for 
Try  to  drain,  no  hole  too  big  for  Try  to  mend. 

"  By  little  strokes 
Men  fell  great  oaks." 

By  a  spadeful  at  a  time  the  navvies  digged  the  cutting,  cut  a  big 
hole  through  the  hill,  and  heaped  up  the  embankment. 

"  The  stone  is  hard,  and  the  drop  is  small, 
But  a  hole  is  made  by  the  constant  fall." 

What  man  has  done  man  can  do,  and  what  has  never  been  may  be. 
Ploughmen  have  got  to  be  gentlemen,  cobblers  have  turned  their 
lapstones  into  gold,  and  tailors  have  sprouted  into  Members  of 
Parliament.  Tuck  up  your  shirt-sleeves,  3'oung  Hopeful,  and  go 
at  it.  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way.  The  sun  shines  for  all 
the  world.  Believe  in  God  and  stick  to  hard  work,  and  see  if  the 
mountains  are  not  removed.  Faint  heart  never  won  fair  lady. 
Cheer,  boys,  cheer,  God  helps  them  that  help  themselves.  Never 
mind  luck :  that 's  what  the  fool  had  when  he  killed  himself  with 
eating  suet-pudding;  the  best  luck  in  all  the  world  is  made  up  of 
joint-oil  and  sticking-plaster. 

Don't  wait  for  helpers.  Try  those  two  old  friends,  your  strong 
arms.  Self's  the  man.  If  the  fox  wants  poultry  for  his  cubs  he 
must  carry  the  chickens  himself  None  of  her  friends  can  help  the 
hare;  she  must  run  for  herself,  or  the  greyhounds  will  have  her. 
Every  man  must  carry  his  own  sack  to  the  mill.  You  must  put 
your  own  shoulder  to  the  wheel  and  keep  it  there,  for  there 's 
plenty  of  ruts  in  the  road.  If  you  wait  till  all  the  ways  are  paved, 
you  will  have  light  shining  between  your  ribs.      If  you  sit  still  till 


422  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

great  men  take  you  on  their  backs,  you  will  grow  to  your  seat. 
Your  own  legs  are  better  than  stilts  :  don't  look  to  others,  but  trust 
in  God  and  keep  your  powder  dry. 

Don't  be  whining  about  not  having  a  fair  start.  Throw  a  sen- 
sible man  out  of  a  window,  he  '11  fall  on  his  legs  and  ask  the 
nearest  way  to  his  work.  The  more  you  have  to  begin  with,  the 
less  you  will  have  at  the  end.  Money  you  earn  yourself  is  much 
brighter  and  sweeter  than  any  you  get  out  of  dead  men's  bags. 
A  scant  breakfast  in  the  morning  of  life  whets  the  appetite  for  a 
feast  later  in  the  day.  He  who  has  tasted  a  sour  apple  will  have 
the  more  relish  for  a  sweet  one ;  your  present  want  will  make 
future  prosperity  all  the  sweeter.  Eighteenpence  has  set  up  many 
a  pedler  in  business,  and  he  has  turned  it  over  till  he  has  kept  his 
carriage. 

As  for  the  place  you  are  cast  in,  don't  find  fault  with  that.  You 
need  not  be  a  horse  because  you  were  born  in  a  stable.  If  a  bull 
tossed  a  man  of  mettle  sky-high,  he  would  drop  down  into  a  good 
place.  A  hard-working  young  man  with  his  wits  about  him  will 
make  money  while  others  do  nothing  but  lose  it. 

Who  loves  his  work  and  knows  to  spare 
May  live  and  flourish  anywhere. 

As  to  a  little  trouble,  who  expects  to  find  cherries  without  stones, 
or  roses  without  thorns?  Who  would  win  must  learn  to  bear. 
Idleness  lies  in  bed  sick  of  the  mulligrubs  where  industry  finds 
health  and  wealth.  The  dog  in  the  kennel  barks  at  the  fleas ;  the 
hunting  dog  does  not  even  know  they  are  there.  Laziness  waits 
till  the  river  is  dry,  and  never  gets  to  market ;  "  Try "  swims 
it  and  makes  all  the  trade.  "  Can't  do  it,"  could  n't  eat  the  bread 
and  butter  which  was  cut  for  him,  but  Try  made  meat  out  of 
mushrooms. 

Everybody  who  does  not  get  on  lays  it  all  on  competition. 
When  the  wine  was  stolen  they  said  it  was  the  rats ;  it 's  very 
convenient  to  have  a  horse  to  put  the  saddle  on.  A  mouse  may 
find  a  hole,  be  the  room  ever  so  full  of  cats.  Good  workmen  are 
always  wanted.  There  's  a  penny  to  be  turned  at  the  worst  booth 
in  the  fair.     No  barber  ever  shaves  so  close  but  another  barber 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  423 

will  find  something  left.  Nothing  is  so  good  but  that  it  might  be 
better ;  and  he  who  sells  the  best  wins  the  trade.  We  were  all 
going  to  the  workhouse  because  of  the  new  machines,  so  the 
prophets  down  in  the  taproom  were  always  telling  us  ;  but, 
instead  of  it,  all  these  threshing  and  reaping  and  hay-making 
machines  have  helped  to  make  those  men  better  off  who  had  sense 
enough  to  work  them.  If  a  man  has  not  a  soul  above  clodhop- 
ping,  he  may  expect  to  keep  poor ;  but  if  he  opens  his  sense- 
box,  and  picks  up  here  a  little  and  there  a  little,  even  Johnny  Raw 
may  yet  improve.  "  Times  are  bad,"  they  say;  yes,  and  if  you  go 
gaping  about  and  send  your  wits  wool-gathering,  times  always 
will  be  bad. 

Many  don't  get  on,  because  they  have  not  the  pluck  to  begin 
in  right  earnest.  The  first  pound  laid  by  is  the  difficulty.  The 
first  blow  is  half  the  battle.  Over  with  that  beer-jug,  up  with  the 
"  Try  "  flag,  then  cut  to  your  work,  and  away  to  the  savings-bank 
with  the  savings,  and  you  will  be  a  man  yet.  Poor  men  will  always 
be  poor  if  they  think  they  must  be.  But  there  's  a  way  up  out  of 
the  lowest  poverty  if  a  man  looks  after  it  early,  before  he  has  a 
wife  and  half-a-dozen  children ;  after  that  he  carries  too  much 
weight  for  racing,  and  most  commonly  he  must  be  content  if  he 
finds  bread  for  the  hungry  mouths  and  clothes  for  the  little  backs. 
Yet,  I  don't  know,  some  hens  scratch  all  the  better  for  having  a 
great  swarm  of  chicks.  To  young  men  the  road  up  the  hill  may 
be  hard ;  but  at  any  rate  it  is  open,  and  they  who  set  stout  heart 
against  a  stiff  hill  shall  climb  it  yet.  What  was  hard  to  bear  will 
be  sweet  to  remember.  If  young  men  would  deny  themselves, 
work  hard,  live  hard,  and  save  in  their  early  days,  they  need  not 
keep  their  noses  to  the  grindstone  all  their  lives,  as  many  do.  Let 
them  be  teetotalers  for  economy's  sake ;  water  is  the  strongest 
drink ;  it  drives  mills.  It 's  the  drink  of  lions  and  horses,  and 
Samson  never  drank  anything  else.  The  beer  money  would  soon 
build  a  house. 

If  you  want  to  do  good  in  the  world,  the  little  word  "  Try  " 
comes  in  again.  There  are  plenty  of  ways  of  serving  God,  and 
some  that  will  fit  you  exactly,  as  a  key  fits  a  lock.  Don't  hold 
back  because  you  cannot  preach  in  St.  Paul's ;   be  content  to  talk 


424  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

to  one  or  two  in  a  cottage ;  very  good  wheat  grows  in  little  fields. 
You  may  cook  in  small  pots  as  well  as  big  ones.  Little  pigeons 
can  carry  great  messages.  Even  a  little  dog  can  bark  at  a  thief, 
and  wake  up  the  master  and  save  the  house.  A  spark  is  fire.  A 
sentence  of  truth  has  heaven  in  it.  Do  what  you  do  right  thor- 
oughly, pray  over  it  heartily,  and  leave  the  result  to  God. 

Alas  !  advice  is  thrown  away  on  many,  like  good  seed  on  a  bare 
rock.  Teach  a  cow  for  seven  years,  but  she  will  never  learn  to 
sing  the  Old  Hundredth.  Of  some  it  seems  true  that  when  they 
were  born  Solomon  went  by  the  door,  but  would  not  look  in. 
Their  coat-of-arms  is  a  fool's  cap  on  a  donkey's  head.  They  sleep 
when  it  is  time  to  plough,  and  weep  when  harvest  comes.  They 
eat  all  the  parsnips  for  supper,  and  wonder  they  have  none  left 
for  breakfast.  Our  working  people  are  shamefully  unthrifty,  and 
so  old  England  swarms  with  poor.  If  what  goes  into  the  mash- 
tub  went  into  the  kneading-troughs,  families  would  be  better  fed 
and  better  taught.  If  what  is  spent  in  waste  were  only  saved 
against  a  rainy  day,  workhouses  would  never  be  built. 

Once  let  every  man  say  "  Try," 
Very  few  on  straw  would  lie, 
Fewer  still  of  want  would  die  ; 
Pans  would  all  have  fish  to  fry  ; 
Pigs  would  fill  the  poor  man's  sty  ; 
Want  would  cease  and  need  would  fly  ; 
Wives  and  children  cease  to  cry; 
Poor-rates  would  not  swell  so  high ; 
Things  would  n't  go  so  much  awry,  — 
You  'd  be  glad,  and  so  would  I. 


BEWARE   OF   THE   DOG! 

John  Ploughman  did  not  in  his  first  book  weary  his  friends  by 
preaching ;  but  in  this  one  he  makes  bold  to  try  his  hand  at  a  ser- 
mon, and  hopes  he  will  be  excused  if  it  should  prove  to  be  only  a 
ploughman's  preachment. 

If  this  were  a  regular  sermon,  —  preached  from  a  pulpit,  of 
course,  —  I  should  make  it  long  and  dismal,  like  a  winter's  night. 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES."  425 

for  fear  people  should  call  me  eccentric.  As  it  is  only  meant  to 
be  read  at  home,  I  will  make  it  short,  though  it  will  not  be  sweet, 
for  I  have  not  a  sweet  subject.  The  text  is  one  which  has  a  great 
deal  of  meaning  in  it,  and  is  to  be  read  on  many  a  wall.  "  Beware 
of  the  Dog  !  "  You  know  what  dogs  are,  and  you  know  how  you 
beware  of  them  when  a  bull-dog  flies  at  you  to  the  full  length  of 
his  chain ;   so  the  words  don't  want  any  clearing  up. 

It  is  very  odd  that  the  Bible  never  says  a  good  word  for  dogs : 
I  suppose  the  breed  must  have  been  bad  in  those  eastern  parts, 


or  else,  as  our  minister  tells  me,  they  were  nearly  wild,  had  no 
master  in  particular,  and  were  left  to  prowl  about  half  starved. 
No  doubt  a  dog  is  very  like  a  man,  and  becomes  a  sad  dog  when 
he  has  himself  for  a  master.  We  are  all  the  better  for  having 
somebody  to  look  up  to ;  and  those  who  say  they  care  for  nobody 
and  nobody  cares  for  them,  are  dogs  of  the  worst  breed,  and,  for  a 
certain  reason,  are  never  likely  to  be  drowned. 

Dear  friends,  I  shall  have  heads  and  tails  like  other  parsons,  and 
I  am  sure  I  have  a  right  to  them,  for  they  are  found  in  the  subjects 
before  us. 


426  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    li.    SPURGEON. 

Firstly,  let  us  beware  of  a  dirty  dog,  —  or,  as  the  grand  old  Book 
calls  them,  "evil  workers,"  —  those  who  love  filth  and  roll  in  it. 
Dirty  dogs  will  spoil  your  clothes,  and  make  you  as  foul  as  them- 
selves. A  man  is  known  by  his  company;  'if  you  go  with  loose 
fellows  your  character  will  be  tarred  with  the  same  brush  as  theirs. 
People  can't  be  very  nice  in  their  distinctions ;  if  they  see  a  bird 
always  flying  with  the  crows,  and  feeding  and  nesting  with  them, 
they  call  it  a  crow,  and  ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred  they 
are  right.  If  you  are  fond  of  the  kennel,  and  like  to  run  with  the 
hounds,  you  will  never  make  the  world  believe  that  you  are  a  pet 
lamb.  Besides,  bad  company  does  a  man  real  harm,  for,  as  the  old 
proverb  has  it,  if  you  lie  down  with  dogs  you  will  get  up  with  fleas. 

You  cannot  keep  too  far  off  a  man  with  the  fever  and  a  man  of 
wicked  life.  If  a  lady  in  a  fine  dress  sees  a  big  dog  come  out 
of  a  horse-pond,  and  run  about  shaking  himself  dry,  she  is  very 
particular  to  keep  out  of  his  way ;  and  from  this  we  may  learn  a 
lesson, — when  we  see  a  man  half  gone  in  liquor,  sprinkling  his 
dirty  talk  all  around  him,  our  best  place  is  half  a  mile  off  at  the 
least. 

Secondly,  beware  of  all  siiarling  dogs.  There  are  plenty  of 
these  about;  they  are  generally  very  small  creatures,  but  they 
more  than  make  up  for  their  size  by  their  noise.  They  yap  and 
snap  without  end.     Dr.  Watts  said,  — 

"  Let  dogs  delight  to  bark  and  bite, 
For  God  has  made  them  so.'' 

But  I  cannot  make  such  an  excuse  for  the  two-legged  dogs  I  am 
writing  about,  for  their  own  vile  tempers  and  the  devil  together 
have  made  them  what  they  are.  They  find  fault  with  anything 
and  everything.  When  they  dare  they  howl,  and  when  they  can- 
not do  that  they  lie  down  and  growl  inwardly.  Beware  of  these 
creatures  !  Make  no  friends  with  an  angry  man ;  as  well  make  a 
bed  of  stinging-nettles  or  wear  a  viper  for  a  necklace.  Perhaps 
the  fellow  is  just  now  very  fond  of  you  ;  but  beware  of  him,  for  he 
-  who  barks  at  others  to-day  without  a  cause  will  one  day  howl  at 
you  for  nothing.  Don't  offer  him  a  kennel  down  your  yard  unless 
he  will  let  you  chain  him  up.  When  you  see  that  a  man  has  a 
bitter  spirit,   and  gives  nobody  a  good  word,  quietly  walk  away 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  427 

and  keep  out  of  his  track  if  you  can.  Loaded  guns  and  quick- 
tempered people  are  dangerous  pieces  of  furniture ;  they  don't 
mean  any  hurt,  but  they  are  apt  to  go  off  and  do  mischief  before 
you  dream  of  it.  Better  go  a  mile  out  of  your  way  than  get  into 
a  fight;  better  sit  down  on  a  dozen  tin-tacks  with  their  points  up 
than  dispute  with  an  angry  neighbor. 

Thirdly,  beware  of  fawjiiiig  dogs.  They  jump  up  upon  you  and 
leave  the  marks  of  their  dirty  paws.  How  they  will  lick  your 
hand  and  fondle  you  as  long  as  there  are  bones  to  be  got :  like 
the  lover  who  said  to  the  cook,  "  Leave  you,  dear  girl?  Never, 
while  you  have  a  shilling !  "  Too  much  sugar  in  the  talk  should 
lead  us  to  suspect  that  there  is  very  little  in  the  heart.  The 
moment  a  man  praises  you  to  your  face,  mark  him,  for  he  is  the 
very  gentleman  to  rail  at  you  behind  your  back.  If  a  fellow  takes 
the  trouble  to  flatter  he  expects  to  be  paid  for  it,  and  he  calculates 
that  he  will  get  his  wages  out  of  the  soft  brains  of  those  he  tickles. 
When  people  stoop  down  it  generally  is  to  pick  something  up,  and 
men  don't  stoop  to  flatter  you  unless  they  reckon  upon  getting 
something  out  of  you.  When  you  see  too  much  politeness  you 
may  generally  smell  a  rat  if  you  give  a  good  sniff.  Young  people 
need  to  be  on  the  watch  against  crafty  flatterers.  Young  women 
with  pretty  faces  and  a  little  money  should  especially  beware  of 
puppies  ! 

Fourthly,  beware  of  a  greedy  dog,  or  a  man  who  never  has 
enough.  Grumbling  is  catching ;  one  discontented  man  sets 
others  complaining,  and  this  is  a  bad  state  of  mind  to  fall  into. 
Folks  who  are  greedy  are  not  always  honest,  and  if  they  see  a 
chance  they  will  put  their  spoon  into  their  neighbor's  porridge; 
why  not  into  yours?  See  how  cleverly  they  skin  a  flint;  before 
long  you  will  find  them  skinning  you,  and  as  you  are  not  quite  so 
used  to  it  as  the  eels  are,  you  had  better  give  Mr.  Skinner  a  wide 
berth.  When  a  man  boasts  that  he  never  gives  anything  away, 
you  may  read  it  as  a  caution,  "  Beware  of  the  dog !  "  A  liberal, 
kind-hearted  friend  helps  you  to  keep  down  your  selfishness,  but  a 
greedy  grasper  tempts  you  to  put  an  extra  button  on  your  pocket. 
Hungry  dogs  will  wolf  down  any  quantity  of  meat,  and  then  look 
out  for  more ;   and  so  will  greedy  men  swallow  farms  and  houses, 


428  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

and  then  smell  around  for  something  else.  I  am  sick  of  the 
animals :  I  mean  both  the  dogs  and  the  men.  Talking  of  nothing 
but  gold,  and  how  to  make  money  and  how  to  save  it,  —  why,  one 
had  better  live  with  the  hounds  at  once,  and  howl  over  your  share 
of  dead  horse.  The  mischief  a  miserly  wretch  may  do  to  a  man's 
heart  no  tongue  can  tell ;  one  might  as  well  be  bitten  by  a  mad 
dog,  for  greediness  is  as  bad  a  madness  as  mortal  can  be  tormented 
with.  Keep  out  of  the  company  of  screw-drivers,  tight-fists,  hold- 
fasts, and  blood-suckers  :   "  Beware  of  dogs  !  " 

Fifthly,  beware  of  a  yelping  dog.  Those  who  talk  much  tell  a 
great  many  lies,  and  if  you  love  truth  you  had  better  not  love 
them.  Those  who  talk  much  are  likely  enough  to  speak  ill  of 
their  neighbors,  and  of  yourself  among  the  rest;  and  therefore  if 
you  do  not  want  to  be  town  talk,  you  will  be  wise  to  find  other 
friends.  Mr.  Prate-apace  will  weary  you  out  one  day,  and  you 
will  be  wise  to  break  off  his  acquaintance  before  it  is  made.  Do 
not  lodge  in  Clack  Street,  nor  next  door  to  the  Gossip's  Head.  A 
lion's  jaw  is  nothing  compared  to  a  tale-bearer's.  If  you  have  a 
dog  which  is  always  barking,  and  should  chance  to  lose  him,  don't 
spend  a  penny  in  advertising  for  him.  Few  are  the  blessings 
which  are  poured  upon  dogs  which  howl  all  night  and  wake  up 
honest  householders,  but  even  these  can  be  better  put  up  with 
than  those  incessant  chatterers  who  never  let  a  man's  character 
rest  either  day  or  night. 

Sixthly,  bezvare  of  a  dog  that  worries  the  sheep.  Such  get  into 
our  churches,  and  cause  a  world  of  misery.  Some  have  new 
doctrines  as  rotten  as  they  are  new ;  others  have  new  plans, 
whims,  and  crotchets,  and  nothing  will  go  right  till  these  are 
tried ;  and  there  is  a  third  sort  which  are  out  of  love  with  every- 
body and  everything,  and  only  come  into  the  churches  to  see  if 
they  can  make  a  row.  Mark  these,  and  keep  clear  of  them. 
There  are  plenty  of  humble  Christians  who  only  want  leave  to  be 
quiet  and  mind  their  own  business,  and  these  troublers  are  their 
plague.  To  hear  the  gospel  and  to  be  helped  to  do  good  is  all 
that  the  most  of  our  members  want;  but  these  worries  come  in 
with  their  "  ologies "  and  puzzlements  and  hard  speeches,  and 
cause   sorrow   upon   sorrow.     A   good   shepherd   will    soon    fetch 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  429 

these  dogs  a  crack  of  the  head ;  but  they  will  be  at  their  work- 
again  if  they  see  half  a  chance.  What  pleasure  can  they  find  in 
it?  Surely  they  must  have  a  touch  of  the  wolf  in  their  nature. 
At  any  rate,  beware  of  the  dog. 

Seventhly,  beivare  of  dogs  who  have  returned  to  their  vomit.  An 
apostate  is  like  a  leper.  As  a  rule,  none  are  more  bitter  enemies 
of  the  cross  than  those  who  once  professed  to  be  followers  of  Jesus. 
He  who  can  turn  away  from  Christ  is  not  a  fit  companion  for  any 
honest  man.  There  are  many  abroad  now-a-days  who  have  thrown 
off  religion  as  easily  as  a  ploughman  puts  off  his  jacket.  It  will 
be  a  terrible  day  for  them  when  the  heavens  are  on  fire  above 
them,  and  the  world  is  ablaze  under  their  feet.  If  a  man  calls 
himself  my  friend,  and  leaves  the  ways  of  God,  then  his  way  and 
mine  are  different;  he  who  is  no  friend  to  the  good  cause  is  no 
friend  of  mine. 

Lastly,  finally,  and  to  finish  up,  beware  of  a  dog  that  has  no 
master.  If  a  fellow  makes  free  with  the  Bible  and  the  laws  of  his 
country  and  common  decency,  it  is  time  to  make  free  to  tell  him 
we  had  rather  have  his  room  than  his  company.  A  certain  set  of 
wonderfully  wise  men  are  talking  very  big  things,  and  putting  their 
smutty  fingers  upon  everything  which  their  fathers  thought  to  be 
good  and  holy.  Poor  fools,  they  are  not  half  as  clever  as  they 
think  they  are.  Like  hogs  in  a  flower-garden,  they  are  for  rooting 
up  everything;  and  some  people  are  so  frightened  that  they  stand 
as  if  they  were  struck,  and  hold  up  their  hands  in  horror  at  the 
•creatures.  When  the  hogs  have  been  in  my  master's  garden,  and 
I  have  had  the  big  whip  handy,  I  warrant  you  I  have  made  a 
clearance,  and  I  only  wish  I  was  a  scholar,  for  I  would  lay  about 
me  among  these  free-thinking  gentry,  and  make  them  squeal  to  a 
long-metre  tune.  As  John  Ploughman  has  other  fish  to  fry  and 
other  tails  to  butter,  he  must  leave  these  mischievous  creatures, 
and  finish  his  rough  ramshackle  sermon. 

"  Beware  of  the  dog !  "  Beware  of  all  who  will  do  you  harm. 
Good  company  is  to  be  had  ;  why  seek  bad  ?  It  is  said  of  heaven, 
"  without  are  dogs."  Let  us  make  friends  of  those  who  can  go 
inside  of  heaven,  for  there  we  hope  to  go  ourselves.  We  shall  go 
to  our  own  company  when  we  die ;  let  it  be  such  that  we  shall 
be  glad  to  go  to  it. 


430 


LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    STURGEON. 


A  BLACK   HEN   LAYS   A   WHITE   EGG. 

The  egg  is  white  enough,  though  the  hen  is  black  as  a  coal. 
This  is  a  very  simple  thing,  but  it  has  pleased  the  simple  mind  of 
John  Ploughman,  and  made  him  cheer  up  when  things  have  gone 
hard  with  him.  Out  of  evil  comes  good,  through  the  great  good- 
ness of  God.  From  threatening  clouds  we  get  refreshing  showers ; 
in  dark  mines   men   find  bright  jewels ;    and  so  from  our  worst 


troubles  come  our  best  blessings.  The  bitter  cold  sweetens  the 
ground,  and  the  rough  winds  fasten  the  roots  of  the  old  oaks. 
God  sends  us  letters  of  love  in  envelopes  with  black  borders. 
Many  a  time  have  I  plucked  sweet  fruit  from  bramble-bushes,  and 
taken  lovely  roses  from  among  prickly  thorns.  Trouble  is  to 
believing  men  and  women  like  the  sweetbrier  in  our  hedges,  and 
where  it  grows  there  is  a  delicious  smell  all  around,  if  the  dew  do 
but  fall  upon  it  from  above. 


"JOHN  PLOUGHMAN'S  TALK"  AND  "PICTURES."     43 1 

Cheer  up,  mates,  all  will  come  right  in  the  end.  The  darkest 
night  will  turn  to  a  fair  morning  in  due  time.  Only  let  us  trust  in 
God,  and  keep  our  heads  above  the  waves  of  fear.  When  our 
hearts  are  right  with  God  everything  is  right.  Let  us  look  for 
the  silver  which  lines  every  cloud,  and  when  we  do  not  see  it  let 
us  believe  that  it  is  there.  We  are  all  at  school,  and  our  great 
Teacher  writes  many  a  bright  lesson  on  the  blackboard  of  afflic- 
tion. Scant  fare  teaches  us  to  live  on  heavenly  bread,  sickness 
bids  us  send  off  for  the  good  Physician,  loss  of  friends  makes  Jesus 
more  precious,  and  even  the  sinking  of  our  spirits  brings  us  to  live 
more  entirely  upon  God.  All  things  are  working  together  for  the 
good  of  those  who  love  God,  and  even  death  itself  will  bring  them 
their  highest  gain.     Thus  the  black  hen  lays  a  white  egg. 

"Since  all  that  I  meet  shall  work  for  my  good, 
The  bitter  is  sweet,  the  medicine  is  food ; 
Though  painful  at  present,  't  will  cease  before  long. 
And  then,,  oh  how  pleasant  the  conqueror's  song  !  " 


HE   HAS  A   HOLE   UNDER  HIS  NOSE,   AND   HIS   MONEY 
RUNS  INTO   IT. 

This  is  the  man  who  is  always  dry,  because  he  takes  so  much 
heavy  wet.  He  is  a  loose  fellow  who  is  fond  of  getting  tight.  He 
is  no  sooner  up  than  his  nose  is  in  the  cup,  and  his  money  begins 
to  run  down  the  hole  which  is  just  under  his  nose.  He  is  not  a 
blacksmith,  but  he  has  a  spark  in  his  throat,  and  all  the  publican's 
barrels  can't  put  it  out.  If  a  pot  of  beer  is  a  yard  of  land,  he  must 
have  swallowed  more  acres  than  a  ploughman  could  get  over  for 
many  a  day,  and  still  he  goes  on  swallowing  until  he  takes  to  wal- 
lowing. All  goes  down  Gutter  Lane.  Like  the  snipe,  he  lives  by 
suction.  If  you  ask  him  how  he  is,  he  says  he  would  be  quite 
right  if  he  could  moisten  his  mouth.  His  purse  is  a  bottle,  his 
bank  is  the  publican's  till,  and  his  casket  is  a  cask :  pewter  is  his 
precious  metal,  and  his  pearl  ^  is  a  mixture  of  gin  and  beer.  The 
dew  of  his  youth  comes  from  Ben  Nevis,  and  the  comfort  of  his 

1  Purl. 


432 


LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


soul  is  cordial  gin.  He  is  a  walking  barrel,  a  living  drain-pipe,  a 
moving  swill-tub.  They  say  "  loath  to  drink  and  loath  to  leave 
off,"  but  he  never  needs  persuading  to  begin,  and  as  to  ending, — 
that  is  out  of  the  question  while  he  can  borrow  twopence.  This  is 
the  gentleman  who  sings,  — 

He  that  buys  land  buys  many  stones, 
He  that  buys  meat  buys  many  bones, 
He  that  buys  eggs  buys  many  shells, 
He  that  buys  good  ale  buys  nothing  else. 

The  old  Scotchman  said,  "  Death  and  drink-draining  are  near 
neighbors,"  and  he  spoke  the  truth.     They  say  that  drunkenness 


makes  some  men  fools,  some  beasts,  and  some  devils ;  but  accord- 
ing to  my  mind  it  makes  all  men  fools,  whatever  else  it  does.  Yet 
when  a  man  is  as  drunk  as  a  rat  he  sets  up  to  be  a  judge,  and 
mocks  at  sober  people.  Certain  neighbors  of  mine  laugh  at  me 
for  being  a  teetotaler,  and  I  might  well  laugh  at  them  for  being 
drunk,  only  I  feel  more  inclined  to  cry,  that  they  should  be  such 
fools.  Oh  that  we  could  get  them  sober,  and  then  perhaps  we 
might  make  men  of  them  1  You  cannot  do  much  with  these 
fellows,  unless  you  can  enlist  them  in  the  Coldstream  Guards. 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  433 

He  that  any  good  would  win, 
At  his  mouth  must  first  begin. 

As  long  as  drink  drowns  conscience  and  reason,  you  might  as  well 
talk  to  the  hogs.  The  rascals  will  promise  fair  and  take  the  pledge, 
and  then  take  their  coats  to  pledge  to  get  more  beer.  We  smile  at 
a  tipsy  man,  for  he  is  a  ridiculous  creature ;  but  when  we  see  how 
he  is  ruined,  body  and  soul,  it  is  no  joking  matter.  How  solemn 
is  the  truth  that  "  No  drunkard  shall  inherit  eternal  life." 

There  's  nothing  too  bad  for  a  man  to  say  or  do  when  he  is  half- 
seas  over.  It  is  a  pity  that  any  decent  body  should  go  near  such 
a  comm.on  sewer.  If  he  does  not  fall  into  the  worst  of  crimes  it 
certainly  is  not  his  fault,  for  he  has  made  himself  ready  for  any- 
thing the  devil  likes  to  put  into  his  mind.  He  does  least  hurt 
when  he  begins  to  be  top-heavy  and  to  reel  about:  then  he  be- 
comes a  blind  man  with  good  eyes  in  his  head,  and  a  cripple  with 
legs  on.  He  sees  two  moons  and  two  doors  to  the  public-house, 
and  tries  to  find  his  way  through  both  the  doors  at  once.  Over 
he  goes,  and  there  he  must  lie,  unless  somebody  will  wheel  him 
home  in  a  barrow  or  carry  him  to  the  police-station. 

Solomon  says  the  glutton  and  the  drunkard  shall  come  to  pov- 
erty; and  that  the  drinker  does  in  no  time.  He  gets  more  and 
more  down  at  the  heel,  and  as  his  nose  gets  redder  and  his  body  is 
more  swollen,  he  gets  to  be  more  of  a  shack  and  more  of  a  shark. 
His  trade  is  gone,  and  his  credit  has  run  out,  but  he  still  manages 
to  get  his  beer.  He  treats  an  old  friend  to  a  pot,  and  then  finds 
that  he  has  left  his  purse  at  home,  and  of  course  the  old  friend 
must  pay  the  shot.  He  borrows  till  no  one  will  lend  him  a  groat, 
unless  it  is  to  get  off  lending  him  a  shilling.  Shame  has  long 
since  left  him,  though  all  who  know  him  are  ashamed  of  him.  His 
talk  runs  like  the  tap,  and  is  full  of  stale  dregs ;  he  is  very  kind 
over  his  beer,  and  swears  he  loves  you,  and  would  like  to  drink 
your  health,  and  love  you  again.  Poor  sot !  much  good  will  his 
blessing  do  to  any  one  who  gets  it;  his  poor  wife  and  family  have 
had  too  much  of  it  already,  and  quake  at  the  very  sound  of  his 
voice. 

Now,  if  we  try  to  do  anything  to  shut  up  a  boozing-house,  or 
shorten  the  hours  for  guzzling,  we  are  called  all  sorts  of  bad 

28 


434  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

names,  and  the  wind-up  of  it  all  is,  "  What !  rob  a  poor  man  of  his 
beer?"  The  fact  is  that  they  rob  the  poor  man  by  his  beer.  The 
ale-jug  robs  the  cupboard  and  the  table,  starves  the  wife  and  strips 
the  children;  it  is  a  great  thief,  housebreaker,  and  heartbreaker ; 
and  the  best  possible  thing  is  to  break  it  to  pieces,  or  keep  it  on 
the  shelf  bottom  upward.  In  a  newspaper  which  was  lent  me  the 
other  day  I  saw  some  verses  by  John  Barleycorn,  jr.,  and  as  they 
tickled  my  fancy  I  copied  them  out,  and  here  they  are,  — 

What  !  rob  a  poor  man  of  his  beer, 

And  give  him  good  victuals  instead  ! 
Your  heart 's  very  hard,  sir,  I  fear, 

Or  at  least  you  are  soft  in  the  head. 

What  !  rob  a  poor  man  of  his  mug, 

And  give  him  a  house  of  his  own. 
With  kitchen  and  parlor  so  snug  ! 

'T  is  enough  to  draw  tears  from  a  stone. 

What !  rob  a  poor  man  of  his  glass, 

And  teach  him  to  read  and  to  write  ! 
What  !  save  him  from  being  an  ass  ! 

'T  is  nothing  but  malice  and  spite. 

What !  rob  a  poor  man  of  his  ale, 

And  prevent  him  from  beating  his  wife,  — 

From  being  locked  up  in  a  jail, 
With  penal  employment  for  life  ! 

Having  given  you  a  song,  I  now  hand  you  a  handbill  to  stick 
up  in  the  "  Rose  and  Crown  "  window,  if  the  landlord  wants  an 
advertisement.  It  was  written  many  years  ago,  but  It  is  quite  as 
good  as  new.  Any  beer-seller  may  print  it  who  thinks  it  likely  to 
help  his  trade. 

DRUNKARDS,    READ   THIS  ! 


DRUNKENNESS 

EXPELS    REASON, 

DISTEMPERS    THE    BODY, 

DIMINISHES     STRENGTH, 

INFLAMES    THE   BLOOD; 

INTERNAL       \ 


J 


,       EXTERNAL       I 
CAUSES  <  >  WOUNDS: 

ETERNAL        1 


INCURABLE 


JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES.  435 

IS 

A   WITCH   TO   THE   SENSES, 

A     DEMON     TO     THE     SOUL, 

A   THIEF    TO   THE    PURSE, 

A   GUIDE   TO   BEGGARY,    LECHERY,    AND   VILLANY. 

IT   IS 

THE    wife's    WOE    AND 

THE     children's     SORROW, 

MAKES    A    MAN 

WALLOW     WORSE     THAN     A     BEAST,     AND 

ACT    LIKE   A   FOOL. 


HE  IS 

A   SELF-MURDERER 

WHO    DRINKS   TO   ANOTHER'S   GOOD   HEALTH, 

AND 

ROBS    HIMSELF   OF   HIS   OWN. 


HE   HAS  GOT  THE   FIDDLE,   BUT   NOT   THE   STICK. 

It  often  comes  to  pass  that  a  man  steps  into  another's  shoes, 
and  yet  cannot  walk  in  them.  A  poor  tool  of  a  parson  gets  into 
a  good  man's  pulpit,  and  takes  the  same  texts,  but  the  sermons  are 
chalk,  and  not  cheese.  A  half-baked  young  swell  inherits  his 
father's  money,  but  not  his  generosity,  his  barns,  but  not  his  brains, 
his  title,  but  not  his  sense,  —  he  has  the  fiddle  without  the  stick,  and 
the  more's  the  pity. 

Some  people  imagine  that  they  have  only  to  get  hold  of  the 

plough-handles,  and  they  would  soon  beat  John  Ploughman.     If 

they  had  his  fiddle  they  are  sure  they  could  play  on  it.     J.   P. 

presents  his  compliments,  and  wishes  he   may  be  there  when  it 

is  done. 

"  That  I  fain  would  see, 
Quoth  blind  George  of  Hollowee." 

However,  between  you  and  me  and  the  bedpost,  there  is  one 
secret  which  John  does  not  mind  letting  out.  John's  fiddle  is  poor 
enough,  but  the  stick  is  a  right  good  one,  too  good  to  be  called  a 
fiddlestick.      Do  you  want  to  see  the  stick  with  which  John  plays 


436 


LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


his  fiddle?  Here  it  is  —  Looking  to  God  for  help,  John  always 
tries  to  do  his  best,  whatever  he  has  to  do,  and  he  has  found  this 
to  be  the  very  best  way  to  play  all  kinds  of  tunes.  What  little 
music  there  is  in  John's  poor  old  fiddle  comes  out  of  it  in  that  way. 
Listen  to  a  scrape  or  two,  — 

If  I  were  a  cobbler,  I  'd  make  it  my  pride 

The  best  of  all  cobblers  to  be  ; 
If   I  were  a  tinker,  no  tinker  beside 

Should  mend  an  old  kettle  like  me. 

And  being  a  ploughman,  I  plough  with  the  best, 

No  furrow  runs  straighter  than  mine  ; 
I  waste  not  a  moment,  and  stay  not  to  rest, 

Though  idlers  to  tempt  me  combine. 

Yet  I  wish  not  to  boast,  for  trust  I  have  none 

In  aught  I  can  do  or  can  be  ; 
I  rest  in  my  Saviour,  and  what  He  has  done 

To  ransom  poor  sinners  like  me. 


JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES."  437 


THOUGHTS  ABOUT  THOUGHT. 

This  paper  is  very  little  of  it  to  be  set  down  to  the  account  of 
John  Ploughman,  for  our  minister,  as  I  may  say,  found  the  horses 
and  held  the  plough-handles,  and  the  ploughman  only  put  in  a 
smack  of  the  whip  every  now  and  then,  just  to  keep  folks  awake. 
"  Two  heads  are  better  than  one,"  said  the  woman  when  she  took 
her  dog  with  her  to  market ;  begging  his  pardon,  our  minister  is 
the  woman,  and  the  only  sensible  head  in  the  whole  affair.  He  is 
a  man  who  is  used  to  giving  his  people  many  things  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent sort  from  anything  which  a  ploughman  is  likely  to  turn  out 
of  his  wallet;  but  I  have,  at  his  request,  dropped  in  a  few  homely 
proverbs  into  his  thoughts,  as  he  says,  "  by  way  of  salt;  "  which 
is  his  very  kind  way  of  putting  it.  I  only  hope  I  have  not  spoiled 
his  writing  with  my  rough  expressions.  If  he  thinks  well  of  it,  I 
should  like  a  few  more  of  his  pieces  to  tack  my  sayings  to ;  and 
the  public  shall  always  be  honestly  told  whether  the  remarks  are  to 
be  considered  as  altogether  "  John  Ploughman's  Talk,"  or  as  the 
writing  of  two  characters  rolled  into  one. 

There  are  not  so  many  hours  in  a  year  as  there  may  be  thoughts 
in  an  hour.  Thoughts  fly  in  flocks,  like  starlings,  and  swarm  like 
bees.  Like  the  sere  leaves  in  autumn,  there  is  no  counting  them ; 
and  like  the  links  in  a  chain,  one  draws  on  another.  What  a  rest- 
less being  man  is !  His  thoughts  dance  up  and  down  like  midges 
in  a  summer's  evening.  Like  a  clock  full  of  wheels  with  a  pendu- 
lum in  full  swing,  his  mind  moves  as  fast  as  time  flies.  This  makes 
thinking  such  an  important  business.  Many  littles  make  a  muckle  ; 
and  so  many  little  thoughts  make  a  great  weight  of  sin.  A  grain 
of  sand  is  light  enough,  but  Solomon  tells  us  that  a  heap  of  sand 
is  heavy.  Where  there  are  so  many  children,  the  mother  has  need 
to  look  well  after  them.  We  ought  to  mind  our  thoughts,  and  if 
they  turn  to  be  our  enemies,  they  will  be  too  many  for  us,  and  will 
drag  us  down  to  ruin.  Thoughts  from  heaven,  like  birds  in  spring, 
will  fill  our  soul  with  music;  but  thoughts  of  evil  will  sting  us  like 
vipers. 


438  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

There  is  a  notion  abroad  that  thought  is  free ;  but  I  remember 
reading,  that  although  thoughts  are  toll-free,  they  are  not  hell-free; 
and  that  saying  quite  agrees  with  the  good  old  Book.  We  cannot 
be  summoned  before  an  earthly  court  for  thinking;  but  depend 
upon  it  we  shall  have  to  be  tried  for  it  at  the  Last  Assizes.  Evil 
thoughts  are  the  marrow  of  sin ;  the  malt  that  sin  is  brewed  from ; 
the  tinder  which  catches  the  sparks  of  the  devil's  temptations ;  the 
churn  in  wdiich  the  milk  of  imagination  is  churned  into  purpose 
and  plan ;  the  nest  in  which  all  evil  birds  lay  their  eggs.  Be 
certain,  then,  that  as  sure  as  fire  burns  brushwood  as  well  as  logs, 
God  will  punish  thoughts  of  sin  as  well  as  deeds  of  sin. 

Let  no  one  suppose  that  thoughts  are  not  known  to  the  Lord ; 
for  He  has  a  window  into  the  closest  closet  of  the  soul,  a  window 
to  which  there  are  no  shutters.  As  we  watch  bees  in  a  glass  hive, 
so  does  the  eye  of  the  Lord  see  us.  The  Bible  says,  "  Hell  and 
destruction  are  before  the  Lord :  how  much  more  then  the  heart 
of  the  children  of  men?"  Man  is  all  outside  to  God.  With 
heaven  there  are  no  secrets.  That  which  is  done  in  the  private 
chamber  of  the  heart  is  as  public  as  the  streets  before  the  All- 
seeing  eye. 

But  some  will  say  that  they  cannot  help  having  bad  thoughts; 
that  may  be,  but  the  question  is.  Do  they  hate  them  or  not?  We 
cannot  keep  thieves  from  looking  in  at  our  windows,  but  if  we 
open  our  doors  to  them  and  receive  them  joyfully,  we  are  as  bad 
as  they.  We  cannot  help  the  birds  flying  over  our  heads ;  but 
we  may  keep  them  from  building  their  nests  in  our  hair.  Vain 
thoughts  will  knock  at  the  door,  but  we  must  not  open  to  them. 
Though  sinful  thoughts  j'ise,  they  must  not  r^/^;/.  He  who  turns 
a  morsel  over  and  over  in  his  mouth,  does  so  because  he  likes  the 
flavor ;  and  he  who  meditates  upon  evil,  loves  it,  and  is  ripe  to 
commit  it.  Think  of  the  devil,  and  he  will  appear;  turn  your 
thoughts  toward  sin,  and  your  hand  will  soon  follow.  Snails  leave 
their  slime  behind  them,  and  so  do  vain  thoughts.  An  arrow  may 
fly  through  the  air  and  leave  no  trace ;  but  an  ill  thought  always 
leaves  a  trail  like  a  serpent.  Where  there  is  much  traffic  of  bad 
thinking,  there  will  be  much  mire  and  dirt ;  every  wave  of  wicked 
thought  adds  something  to  the  corruption  which   rots  upon  the 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES,"  439 

shore  of  life.  It  is  dreadful  to  think  that  a  vile  imagination  once 
indulged  gets  the  key  of  our  minds,  and  can  get  in  again  very 
easily  whether  we  will  or  no,  and  can  so  return  as  to  bring  seven 
other  spirits  with  it  more  wicked  than  itself;  and  what  may  follow, 
no  one  knows.  Nurse  sin  on  the  knees  of  thought,  and  it  will 
grow  into  a  giant.  Dip  tow  in  naphtha,  and  how  it  will  blaze  when 
fire  gets  to  it !  Lay  a  man  asoak  in  depraved  thought,  and  he 
is  ready  to  flame  up  into  open  sin  as  soon  as  ever  opportunity 
occurs.  This  shows  us  the  wisdom  of  watching,  every  day,  the 
thoughts  and  imaginations  of  our  hearts.  Good  thoughts  are 
blessed  guests,  and  should  be  heartily  welcomed,  well  fed,  and 
much  sought  after.  Like  rose-leaves,  they  give  out  a  sweet  smell 
if  laid  up  in  the  jar  of  memory.  They  cannot  be  too  much  culti- 
vated ;  they  are  a  crop  which  enriches  the  soil.  As  the  hen 
broods  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  so  should  we  cherish  all 
holy  thoughts.  As  the  poor  man's  ewe  lamb  ate  of  his  own  bread 
and  lay  in  his  bosom,  even  so  should  godly  meditation  be  very 
dear  to  us.  Holy  thoughts  breed  holy  words  and  holy  actions, 
and  are  hopeful  evidences  of  a  renewed  heart.  Who  would  not 
haye  them?  To  keep  chaff  out  of  a  bushel,  one  sure  plan  is  to 
fill  it  full  of  wheat ;  and  to  keep  out  vain  thoughts,  it  is  wise  and 
prudent  to  have  the  mind  stored  with  choice  subjects  for  medita- 
tion :  these  are  easy  to  find,  and  we  should  never  be  without  them. 
May  we  all  be  able  to  say  with  David,  "  In  the  multitude  of  my 
thoughts  within  me,  Thy  comforts  delight  my  soul." 


"GREAT  CRY  AND   LITTLE   WOOL,"   AS  THE   MAN   SAID 
WHO   CLIPPED   THE   SOW. 

Our  friend  Hodge  does  not  seem  to  be  making  much  of  an  out 
at  shearing.  It  will  take  him  all  his  time  to  get  wool  enough  for 
a  blanket,  and  his  neighbors  are  telling  him  so :  but  he  does  not 
heed  them,  for  a  man  never  listens  to  reason  when  he  has  made 
up  his  mind  to  act  unreasonably.     Hodge  gets  plenty  of  music  of 


440 


LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.   SPURGEON. 


a  sort:  Hullah's  system  is  nothing  to  it,  and  even  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's flutes,  harps,  sackbuts,  and  dulcimers  could  not  make 
more  din.  He  gets  "  cry  "  enough  to  stock  a  Babylon  of  babies, 
but  not  wool  enough  to  stop  his  ears  with. 

Now  is  not  this  very  like  the  world  with  its  notions  of  pleasure? 
There  is  noise  enough :  laughter  and  shouting  and  boasting;  biit 
where  is  the  comfort  which  can  warm  the  heart  and  give  peace  to 
the  spirit?  Generally  there's  plenty  of  smoke  and  very  little  fire 
in  what  is  called  pleasure.     It  promises  a  nag  and  gives  an  egg. 


Gayety  is  a  sort  of  flash  in  the  pan,  a  fifth-of-November  squib,  all 
fizz  and  bang  and  done  for.  The  devil's  meal  is  all  bran,  and  the 
world's  wine  turns  to  vinegar.  It  is  always  making  a  great  noise 
over  nutshells.  Thousands  have  had  to  weep  over  their  blunder 
in  looking  for  their  heaven  on  earth ;  but  they  follow  each  other 
like  sheep  through  a  gap,  not  a  bit  the  wiser  for  the  experience  of 
generations.  It  seems  that  every  man  must  have  a  clip  at  his  own 
particular  pig,  and  cannot  be  made  to  believe  that,  like  all  the 
rest,  it  will  yield  him  nothing  but  bristles.  Men  are  not  all  of  one 
mind  as  to  what  is  best  for  them ;  they  no  more  agree  than  the 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  44I 

clocks  in  our  village,  but  they  all  hang  together  in  following  after 
vanity,  for  to  the  core  of  their  hearts  they  are  vain. 

One  shears  the  publican's  hog,  which  is  so  fond  of  the  swill-tub, 
and  he  reckons  upon  bringing  home  a  wonderful  lot  of  wool ;  but 
everybody  knows  that  he  who  goes  to  the  "  Woolpack  "  for  wool 
will  come  home  shorn;  the  "Blue  Boar"  is  an  uncommonly  ugly 
animal  to  shear,  and  so  is  the  "  Red  Lion."  Better  sheer  off  as 
fast  as  you  can ;  it  will  be  sheer  folly  to  stop.  You  may  loaf 
about  the  tap  of  the  "  Half-moon  "  till  you  get  the  full  moon  in 
your  noddle,  and  need  a  keeper;  it  is  the  place  for  men  whose 
wits  go  wool-gathering,  but  wool  there  is  none. 

Another  is  covetous,  and  hopes  to  escape  misery  by  being  a 
miser:  his  greedy  mind  can  no  more  be  filled  than  a  lawyer's 
purse :  he  never  has  enough,  and  so  he  never  has  a  feast.  He 
makes  money  with  his  teeth,  by  keeping  them  idle.  That  is  a 
very  lean  hog  to  clip  at,  for  poverty  wants  some  things,  luxury 
many  things,  but  covetousness  wants  all  things.  If  we  could  hoard 
up  all  the  money  in  the  world,  what  would  it  be  to  us  at  last?  To- 
day at  good  cheer,  to-morrow  on  the  bier:  in  the  midst  of  life  we 
are  in  death. 

Some,  like  old  Mrs.  Too-good,  go  in  for  self-righteousness,  and 
their  own  mouths  dub  them  saints.  They  are  the  pink  of  perfec- 
tion, the  cream  of  creation,  the  gems  of  their  generation,  and  yet 
a  sensible  man  would  not  live  in  the  same  house  with  them  for  all 
the  money  you  could  count.  They  are  saints  abroad,  but  ask 
their  maids  what  they  are  at  home.  Great  cry  and  little  wool  is 
common  enough  in  religion :  you  will  find  that  those  who  crack 
themselves  up  are  generally  cracked,  and  those  who  despise  their 
neighbors  come  to  be  despised  themselves. 

Many  try  wickedness,  and  run  into  bad  company,  and  rake  the 
kennels  of  vice.  I  warrant  you  they  may  shear  the  whole  sty-ful 
of  filthy  creatures  and  never  find  a  morsel  of  wool  on  the  whole 
lot  of  them.  Loose  characters,  silly  amusements,  gambling,  wan- 
tonness, and  such  like,  are  swine  that  none  but  a  fool  will  try  his 
shears  upon.  I  don't  deny  that  there  's  plenty  of  swinish  music,  — 
who  ever  expected  that  there  would  be  silence  in  a  piggery?  But 
then  noise  cannot  fill  the  heart,  nor  laughter  lighten  the  soul- 


442  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

John  Ploughman  has  tried  for  himself,  and  he  knows  by  experi- 
ence that  all  the  world  is  nothing  but  a  hog  that  is  not  worth  the 
shearing:  "Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity."  But  yet  there  is 
wool  to  be  had;  there  are  real  joys  to  be  got  for  the  asking  if  we 
ask  aright.  Below,  all  things  deceive  us,  but  above  us  there  is  a 
true  Friend.  "  Wherefore  do  ye  spend  your  money  for  that  which 
is  not  bread,  and  your  labor  for  that  which  satisfieth  not?  "  This 
is  John  Ploughman's  verdict,  which  he  wishes  all  his  readers  to 

take  note  of,  — 

"  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  will  give 
Sweetest  pleasures  while  we  live  ; 
Faith  in  Jesus  must  supply 
Solid  comfort  when  we  die." 


YOU   CAN'T   CATCH   THE   WIND   IN   A   NET. 

Some  people  get  windmills  in  their  heads  and  go  in  for  all 
sorts  of  silly  things.  They  talk  of  ruling  the  nation  as  if  men 
were  to  be  driven  like  sheep,  and  they  prate  of  reforms  and 
systems  as  if  they  could  cut  out  a  world  in  brown  paper  with  a 
pair  of  scissors.  Such  a  body  thinks  himself  very  deep,  but  he  is 
as  shallow  as  a  milkpan.  You  can  soon  know  him  as  well  as  if 
you  had  gone  through  him  with  a  lighted  candle,  and  yet  you  will 
not  know  a  great  deal  after  all.  He  has  a  great  head,  and  very 
little  in  it.  He  can  talk  by  the  dozen  or  the  gross,  and  say  noth- 
ing. When  he  is  fussing  and  boasting  of  his  fine  doings,  you  soon 
discover  that  he  makes  a  long  harvest  of  very  little  corn.  His 
tongue  is  like  a  pig's  tail,  going  all  day  long  and  nothing  done. 

This  is  the  man  who  can  pay  off  the  national  debt,  and  yet,  in 
his  little  shop  he  sells  two  apples  in  three  days ;  he  has  the  secret 
of  high  farming,  and  loses  more  at  it  than  any  man  in  the  county. 
The  more  he  studies  the  more  he  misses  the  mark ;  he  reminds 
me  of  a  blind  man  on  a  blind  horse,  who  rode  out  in  the  middle 
of  a  dark  night,  and  the  more  he  tried  to  keep  out  of  ditches  the 
more  he  fell  in. 

When  they  catch  live  red  herrings  on  Newmarket  Heath  he  will 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES." 


443 


bring  out  a  good  thing,  and  line  his  pockets  with  gold ;  up  till 
now,  he  says,  he  has  been  unlucky,  and  he  believes  that  if  he  were 
to  make  a  man  a  coffin  he  would  be  sure  not  to  die.  He  is  going 
to  be  rich  next  year,  and  you  will  then  see  what  you  shall  see: 
just  now  he  would  be  glad  of  half  a  crown  on  account,  for  which 
he  will  give  you  a  share  in  his  invention  for  growing  wheat  without 
ploughing  or  sowing. 

It  is  odd  to  see  this  wise  man  at  times  when  his  wits  are  all 
up  in  the  moon:  he  is  just  like  Chang  the  Chinaman,  who  said, 
"  Here  's  my  umbrella,  and  here  's  my  bundle;  but  zvJicre  am  If" 
He  cannot  find  his  spectacles,  though  he  is  looking  through  them ; 
,  and  when  he  is  out  riding  on  his  own  ass,  he  pulls  up  and  says, 
"Wherever  is  that  donkey?  " 


I  have  heard  of  one  learned  man  who  boiled  his  watch  and  stood 
looking  at  the  egg,  and  another  who  forgot  that  he  was  to  be 
married  that  day,  and  would  have  lost  his  lady  if  his  friend  had 
not  fetched  him  out  of  his  study.  Think  of  that,  my  boy,  and 
don't  fret  yourself  because  you  are  not  so  overdone  with  learning 
as  to  have  forgotten  your  common  sense. 


444  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

The  regular  wind-catcher  is  soft  as  silk  and  as  green  as  grass, 
and  yet  he  thinks  himself  very  long-headed ;  and  so  indeed  he 
would  be  if  his  ears  were  taken  into  the  measurement.  He  is 
going  to  do  —  well —  there  's  no  telling  what.  He  is  full  of  wishes 
but  short  of  will,  and  so  his  buds  never  come  to  flowers  or  fruit. 
He  is  like  a  hen  that  lays  eggs,  and  never  sits  on  them  long  enough 
to  hatch  a  single  chick. 

Moonshine  is  the  article  our  friend  deals  in,  and  it  is  wonderful 
what  he  can  see  by  it.  He  cries  up  his  schemes,  and  it  is  said 
that  he  draws  on  his  imagination  for  his  facts.  When  he  is  in  full 
swing  with  one  of  his  notions,  he  does  not  stick  at  a  trifle.  Will 
Shepherd  heard  one  of  these  gentry  the  other  day  telling  how  his 
new  company  would  lead  all  the  shareholders  on  to  Tom  Tiddler's 
ground  to  pick  up  gold  and  silver;  and  when  all  the  talk  was  over, 
Will  said  to  me,  "  That 's  a  lie  with  a  lid  on,  and  a  brass  handle  to 
take  hold  of  it."  Rather  sharp  this  of  Will,  for  I  do  believe  the 
man  was  caught  on  his  own  hook  and  believed  in  his  own  dreams ; 
yet  I  did  not  like  him,  for  he  wanted  us  poor  fellows  to  put  our 
little  savings  into  his  hands,  as  if  we  could  afi"ord  to  fly  kites  with 
laborers'  wages. 

What  a  many  good  people  there  are  who  have  religious  crazes ! 
They  do  nothing,  but  they  have  wonderful  plans  for  doing  every- 
thing in  a  jiffy.  So  many  thousand  people  are  to  give  half  a  crown 
each,  and  so  many  more  a  crown,  and  so  many  more  a  sovereign, 
and  the  meeting-house  is  to  be  built  just  so,  and  nohow  else. 
The  mischief  is  that  the  thousands  of  people  do  not  rush  forward 
with  their  money,  and  the  minister  and  a  few  hard-working  friends 
have  to  get  it  together  little  by  little  in  the  old-fashioned  style, 
while  your  wonderful  schemer  slinks  out  of  the  way  and  gives 
nothing.  I  have  long  ago  found  out  that  pretty  things  on  paper 
had  better  be  kept  there.  Our  master's  eldest  son  had  a  plan 
for  growing  plum-trees  in  our  hedges  as  they  do  in  Kent;  but  he 
never  looked  to  see  whether  the  soil  would  suit,  and  so  he  lost 
the  trees  which  he  put  in,  and  there  was  an  end  of  his  damsons. 

"  Circumstances  alter  cases  ; 
Different  ways  suit  different  places." 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S  TALK"  AND   "PICTURES."  445 

New  brooms  sweep  clean,  but  they  mostly  sweep  up  dirt. 
Plough  with  what  you  please,  I  stick  to  the  old  horses  which  have 
served  me  so  well.  Fine  schemes  come  to  nothing;  it  is  hard 
work  that  does  it,  whether  it  be  in  the  world  or  in  the  Church. 

"In  the  laborious  husbandman  you  see 
What  all  true  Christians  are  or  ouoht  to  be," 


ON  THE   PREACHER'S  APPEARANCE. 

A  GOOD  horse  cannot  be  a  bad  color,  and  a  really  good  preacher 
can  wear  what  he  likes,  and  none  will  care  much  about  it ;  but 
though  you  cannot  know  wine  by  the  barrel,  a  good  appearance 
is  a  letter  of  recommendation  even  to  a  ploughman.  Wise  men 
neither  fall  into  love  nor  take  a  disHke  at  first  sight ;  but  still  the 
first  impression  is  always  a  great  thing,  even  with  them ;  and  as  to 
those  weaker  brethren  who  are  not  wise,  a  good  appearance  is  half 
the  battle.  What  is  a  good  appearance?  Well,  it's  not  being 
pompous  and  starchy,  and  making  one's  self  high  and  mighty 
among  the  people,  for  proud  looks  lose  hearts,  and  gentle  words 
win  them.  It's  not  wearing  fine  clothes  either,  for  foppish  dress 
usually  means  a  foul  house  within,  and  the  doorstep  without  fresh 
whitened :  such  dressing  tells  the  world  that  the  outside  is  the  best 
part  of  the  puppet.  When  a  man  is  proud  as  a  peacock,  all 
strut  and  show,  he  needs  converting  himself  before  he  sets  up  to 
preach  to  others.  The  preacher  who  measures  himself  by  his 
looking-glass  may  please  a  few  silly  girls,  but  neither  God  nor 
man  will  long  put  up  with  him.  The  man  who  owes  his  greatness 
to  his  tailor  will  find  that  needle  and  thread  cannot  long  hold  a  fool 
in  a  pulpit.  A  gentleman  should  have  more  in  his  pocket  than  on 
his  back,  and  a  minister  should  have  more  in  his  inner  man  than  on 
his  outer  man.  I  would  say,  if  I  might,  to  young  ministers,  Do 
not  preach  in  gloves,  for  cats  in  mittens  catch  no  mice;  don't  curl 
and  oil  your  hair  like  dandies,  for  nobody  cares  to  hear  a  peacock's 
voice;  don't  have  your  own  pretty  self  in  your  mind  at  all,  or 


446  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

nobody  else  will  mind  you.  Away  with  gold  rings  and  chains  and 
jewelry;  why  should  the  pulpit  become  a  goldsmith's  shop?  For 
ever  away  with  surplices  and  gowns,  and  all  those  nursery  doll- 
dresses, —  men  should  put  away  childish  things.  A  cross  on  the 
back  is  the  sign  of  a  devil  in  the  heart;  those  who  do  as  Rome  does, 
should  go  to  Rome  and  show  their  colors.  If  priests  suppose  that 
they  get  the  respect  of  honest  men  by  their  fine  ornamental  dresses, 
they  are  much  mistaken,  for  it  is  commonly  said,  "  Fine  feathers 
ne'er  make  fine  birds,"  and 

"  An  ape  is  ne'er  so  like  an  ape 
As  when  he  wears  a  Popish  cape." 

Among  us  Dissenters  the  preacher  claims  no  priestly  power,  and 
therefore  should  never  wear  a  peculiar  dress ;  let  fools  wear  fools' 
caps  and  fools'  dresses,  but  men  who  make  no  claim  to  be  fools 
should  not  put  on  fools'  clothes.  None  but  a  very  silly  sheep 
would  wear  wolf's  clothing.  It  is  a  singular  taste  which  makes 
honest  men  covet  the  rags  of  thieves.  Besides,  where 's  the  good 
of  such  finery?  Except  a  duck  in  pattens,  no  creature  looks  more 
stupid  than  a  Dissenting  preacher  in  a  gown  which  is  of  no  man- 
ner of  use  to  him.  I  could  laugh  till  I  held  my  sides,  when  I  see 
our  doctors  in  gowns  and  bands,  puffed  out  with  their  silks,  and 
touched  up  with  their  little  bibs,  for  they  put  me  so  much  in  mind 
of  our  old  turkey-cock  when  his  temper  is  up  and  he  swells  to  his 
biggest.  They  must  be  weak  folks  indeed  who  want  a  man  to 
dress  like  a  woman  before  they  can  enjoy  his  sermon ;  and  he  who 
cannot  preach  without  such  milliner's  trumpery  may  be  a  man 
among  geese,  but  he  is  a  goose  among  men.  At  the  same  time, 
the  preacher  should  endeavor,  according  to  his  means,  to  dress 
himself  respectably ;  and  as  to  neatness,  he  should  be  without  spot, 
for  kings  should  not  have  dirty  footmen  to  wait  at  their  table,  and 
they  who  teach  godliness  should  practise  cleanliness.  I  should  like 
white  neckties  better  if  they  were  always  wJiite,  but  dirty  brown  is 
neither  here  nor  there.  From  a  slovenly,  smoking,  snuff-taking, 
beer-drinking  parson,  may  the  Church  be  delivered  !  Some  that  I 
meet  with  may,  perhaps,  have  very  good  manners,  but  they  did  not 
happen  to  have  them  about  them  at  the  time :  like  the  Dutch  cap- 
tain with  his  anchors,  they  had   left  them  at  home.     This  should 


"  JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK  "   AND    "  PICTURES."  447 

never  be  the  case,  for  if  there  be  a  well-behaved  man  in  the  parish, 
it  should  be  the  minister.  A  worn  coat  is  no  discredit,  but  the, 
poorest  may  be  neat,  and  men  should  be  scholars,  rather  than 
teachers,  till  they  are  so.  You  cannot  judge  a  horse  by  his  har- 
ness ;  but  a  modest,  gentlemanly  appearance,  in  which  the  dress  is 
just  such  as  nobody  could  make  a  remark  upon,  seems  to  me  to 
be  the  right  sort  of  thing.  This  little  bit  of  my  mind  is  meant  to 
warn  you  young  striplings  who  have  just  started  in  the  ministry, 
and  if  any  of  you  get  cross  over  it,  I  shall  tell  you  that  sore 
horses  cannot  bear  to  be  combed,  and  again,  "those  whom  the 
cap  fits  must  wear  it."  John  Ploughman,  you  will  say,  had  better 
mend  his  own  smock  and  let  the  parsons  alone ;  but  I  take  leave 
to  look  about  me  and  speak  my  mind,  for  a  cat  may  look  at  a 
king,  and  a  fool  may  give  wise  men  good  advice.  If  I  speak  too 
plainly,  please  remember  that  an  old  dog  cannot  alter  his  way  of 
barking;  and  he  who  has  long  been  used  to  plough  a  straight 
furrow  is  very  apt  to  speak  in  the  same  straightforward  manner. 


NEVER  STOP  THE    PLOUGH  TO   CATCH  A  MOUSE. 

There  'S  not  much  profit  in  this  game.  Think  of  a  man  and 
a  boy  and  four  horses  all  standing  still  for  the  sake  of  a  mouse ! 
What  would  old  friend  Tusser  say  to  that?  I  think  he  would 
rhyme  in  this  fashion,  — 

A  ploughman  deserveth  a  cut  of  the  whip, 
If  for  idle  pretence  he  let  the  hours  slip. 

Heaps  of  people  act  like  the  man  in  our  picture.  They  have  a 
great  work  in  hand  which  wants  all  their  wits,  and  they  leave  it  to 
squabble  over  some  pretty  nothing,  not  worth  a  fig.  Old  Master 
Tom  would  say  to  them,  — 

No  more  tittle-tattle,  go  on  with  your  cattle. 

He  could  not  bear  for  a  farmer  to  let  his  horses  out  for  carting 
even,  because  it  took  their  work  away  from  the  farm,  and  so  I  am 


448 


LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


sure  he  would  be  in  a  great  stew  if  he  saw  farmers  wasting  their 
time  at  matches  and  hunts  and  the  Hke.     He  says,  — 

"  Who  slacketh  his  tillage  a  carter  to  be, 
For  groat  got  abroad,  at  home  shall  lose  three ; 
For  sure  by  so  doing  he  brings  out  of  heart 
Both  land  for  the  corn  and  horse  for  the  cart." 

The  main  chance  must  be  minded,  and  the  little  things  must  be 
borne  with.  Nobody  would  burn  his  house  down  to  kill  the  black- 
beetles,  and  it  would  never  answer  to  kill  the  bullocks  to  feed  the 
cats.  If  our  baker  left  off  making  bread  for  a  week  while  he 
cracked  the  cockroaches,  what  should  we   all  do  for  breakfast? 


If  the  butcher  sold  no  more  meat  till  he  had  killed  all  the  blow- 
flies, we  should  be  many  a  day  without  mutton.  If  the  water  com- 
panies never  gave  the  Londoners  a  drink  till  they  had  fished  every 
gudgeon  out  of  the  Thames,  how  would  the  old  ladies  make  their 
tea?  There  's  no  use  in  stopping  your  fishing  because  of  the  sea- 
weed, nor  your  riding  because  of  the  dust. 

Now,  our  minister  said  to  me  the  other  day:  "John,  if  you  were 
on  the  committees  of  some  of  our  societies  you  would  see  this 
mouse-hunting   done   to   perfection.      Not   only    committees,    but 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S    TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  449 

whole  bodies  of  Christian  people  go  mouse-hunting."  "Well,"  said 
I,  "  minister,  just  write  me  a  bit,  and  I  will  stick  it  in  my  book;  it 
will  be  beef  to  my  horse-radish."     Here  's  his  writing:  — 

"  A  society  of  good  Christian  people  will  split  into  pieces  over 
a  petty  quarrel,  or  mere  matter  of  opinion,  while  all  around  them 
the  masses  are  perishing  for  want  of  the  gospel.  A  miserable 
little  mouse,  which  no  cat  would  ever  hunt,  takes  them  off  from 
their  Lord's  work.  Again,  intelligent  men  will  spend  months  of 
time  and  heaps  of  money  in  inventing  and  publishing  mere  specu- 
lations, while  the  great  field  of  the  world  lies  unploughed.  They 
seem  to  care  nothing  how  many  may  perish  so  long  as  they  can 
ride  their  hobbies.  In  other  matters  a  little  common  sense  is 
allowed  to  rule,  but  in  thq^  weightiest  matters  foolishness  is  sadly 
conspicuous.  As  for  you  and  me,  John,  let  us  kill  a  mouse  when 
it  nibbles  our  bread,  but  let  us  not  spend  our  lives  over  it.  What 
can  be  done  by  a  mousetrap  or  a  cat  should  not  occupy  all  our 
thoughts, 

"  The  paltry  trifles  of  this  world  are  much  of  the  same  sort. 
Let  us  give  our  chief  attention  to  the  chief  things,  —  the  glory  of 
God,  the  winning  of  souls  for  Jesus,  and  our  own  salvation.  There 
are  fools  enough  in  the  world,  and  there  can  be  no  need  that 
Christian  men  should  swell  the  number.  Go  on  with  your  plough- 
ing, John,  and  I  will  go  on  with  my  preaching,  and  *  in  due  season 
we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not' " 


HOME. 


That  word  home  always  sounds  like  poetry  to  me.  It  rings  like 
a  peal  of  bells  at  a  wedding,  only  more  soft  and  sweet,  and  it 
chimes  deeper  into  the  ears  of  my  heart.  It  does  not  matter 
whether  it  means  thatched  cottage  or  manor-house,  home  is  home, 
be  it  ever  so  homely,  and  there  's  no  place  on  earth  like  it.  Green 
grow  the  houseleek  on  the  roof  for  ever,  and  let  the  moss  flourish 
on  the  thatch.  Sweetly  the  sparrows  chirrup  and  the  swallows 
twitter  around  the  chosen  spot  which  is  my  joy  and  rest.     Every 


450  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF  C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

bird  loves  its  own  nest;   the  owl  thinks  the  old  ruins  the  fairest 

spot  under  the  moon,  and  the  fox  is  of  opinion  that  his  hole  in  the 

hill  is  remarkably  cosey.     When  my  master's  nag  knows  that  his 

head  is  towards  home  he  wants  no  whip,  but  thinks  it  best  to  put 

on  all  steam ;    and  I  am  always  of  the  same  mind,  for  the  way 

home,  to  me,  is  the  best  bit  of  road  in  the  country.     I  like  to  see 

the  smoke  out  of  my  own  chimney  better  than  the  fire  on  another 

man's  hearth  ;   there  's  something  so  beautiful  in  the  way  in  which 

it  curls  up  among  the  trees.     Cold  potatoes  on  my  own  table  taste 

better  than  roast  meat  at  my  neighbor's,  and  the  honeysuckle  at 

my  own  door  is  the  sweetest  I  ever  smell.     When  you  are  out, 

friends  do  their  best,  but  still  it  is  not  home.     "  Make  yourself  at 

home,"  they  say,  because  everybody  knows  that  to  feel  at  home  is 

to  feel  at  ease. 

"  East  and  west, 
Home  is  best." 

Why,  at  home  you  are  at  home,  and  what  more  do  you  want? 
Nobody  grudges  you,  whatever  your  appetite  may  be ;  and  you 
don't  get  put  into  a  damp  bed.  Safe  in  his  own  castle,  like  a  king 
in  his  palace,  a  man  feels  himself  somebody,  and  is  not  afraid  of 
being  thought  proud  for  thinking  so.  Every  cock  may  crow  on 
his  own  dunghill ;  and  a  dog  is  a  lion  when  he  is  at  home.  A 
sweep  is  master  inside  his  own  door.  No  need  to  guard  every 
word  because  some  enemy  is  on  the  watch,  no  keeping  the  heart 
under  lock  and  key ;  but  as  soon  as  the  door  is  shut  it  is  liberty 
hall,  and  none  to  peep  and  pry.  There  is  a  glorious  view  from 
the  top  of  Leith  Hill,  in  our  dear  old  Surrey,  and  Hindhead  and 
Martha's  Chapel  and  Boxhill  are  not  to  be  sneezed  at ;  but  I  could 
show  you  something  which  to  my  mind  beats  them  all  to  nothing 
for  real  beauty,  —  I  mean  John  Ploughman's  cottage,  with  the  kettle 
boiling  on  the  hob,  singing  like  an  unfallen  black  angel,  while  the 
cat  is  lying  asleep  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  the  w^ife  in  her  chair 
mending  stockings,  and  the  children  cutting  about  the  room,  as  full 
of  fun  as  young  lambs.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  and  perhaps  some  of 
you  will  doubt  it  —  but  that  is  your  unbelieving  nature  —  our  little 
ones  are  real  beauties,  always  a  pound  or  two  plumper  than  others 
of  their  age ;   and  yet  it  don't  tire  you  half  so  much  to  nurse  them 


"JOHN   PLOUGHxMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  45 1 

as  it  does  other  people's  babies.  Why,  bless  you,  my  wife  would 
knock  up  in  half  tlie  time,  if  her  neighbor  had  asked  her  to  see  to 
a  strange  youngster,  but  her  own  children  don't  seem  to  tire  her  at 
all.  Now  my  belief  is  that  it  all  comes  of  their  having  been  born 
at  home.  Just  so  is  it  with  everything  else:  our  lane  is  the  most 
beautiful  for  twenty  miles  round,  because  our  home  is  in  it;  and 
my  garden  is  a  perfect  paradise,  for  no  other  particular  reason 
than  this  very  good  one,  that  it  belongs  to  the  old  house  at  home. 

I  cannot  make  out  why  so  many  working  men  spend  their  even- 
ings at  the  public-house,  when  their  own  fireside  would  be  so  much 
better,  and  cheaper  too.  There  they  sit,  hour  after  hour,  boozing 
and  talking  nonsense,  and  forgetting  the  dear  good  souls  at  home, 
who  are  half  starved,  and  weary  with  waiting  for  them.  Their 
money  goes  into  the  publican's  till,  when  it  ought  to  make  their 
wives  and  children  comfortable;  as  for  the  beer  they  get,  it  is  just 
so  much  fools'  milk  to  drown  their  wits  in.  Such  fellows  ought  to 
be  horsewhipped ;  and  those  who  encourage  them  and  live  on 
their  spendings  deserve  to  feel  the  butt  end  of  the  whip.  Those 
beershops  are  the  curse  of  this  country ;  no  good  ever  can  come 
of  them,  and  the  evil  they  do  no  tongue  can  tell.  The  publics  were 
bad  enough,  but  the  beershops  are  a  pest :  I  wish  the  man  who 
made  the  law  to  open  them  had  to  keep  all  the  families  that  they 
have  brought  to  ruin.  Beershops  are  the  enemies  of  home,  and 
therefore  the  sooner  their  licenses  are  taken  away,  the  better.  Poor 
men  don't  need  such  places,  nor  rich  men  either;  they  are  all 
worse  and  no  better,  like  Tom  Norton's  wife.  Anything  that  hurts 
the  home  is  a  curse,  and  ought  to  be  hunted  down  as  gamekeepers 
do  the  vermin  in  the  copses. 

Husbands  should  try  to  make  home  happy  and  holy.  It  is  an 
ill  bird  that  fouls  its  own  nest,  a  bad  man  who  makes  his  home 
wretched.  Our  house  ought  to  be  a  little  church,  with  holiness  to 
the  Lord  over  the  door ;  but  it  ought  never  to  be  a  prison,  where 
there  is  plenty  of  rule  and  order,  but  little  love  and  no  pleasure. 
Married  life  is  not  all  sugar,  but  grace  in  the  heart  will  keep  away 
most  of  the  sours.  Godliness  and  love  can  make  a  man,  like  a  bird 
in  a  hedge,  sing  among  thorns  and  briers,  and  set  others  a-singing 
too.     It  should  be  the  husband's  pleasure  to  please  his  wife,  and 


452  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF  C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

the  wife  s  care  to  care  for  her  husband.  He  is  kind  to  himself  who 
is  kind  to  his  wife.  I  am  afraid  some  men  Hve  by  the  rule  of  self, 
and  when  that  is  the  case  home  happiness  is  a  mere  sham.  When 
husbands  and  wives  are  well  yoked,  how  light  their  load  becomes  ! 
It  is  not  every  couple  that  is  a  pair,  and  the  more  's  the  pity.  In 
a  true  home  all  the  strife  is  which  can  do  the  most  to  make  the 
family  happy.  A  home  should  be  a  Bethel,  not  Babel.  The 
husband  should  be  the  house-band,  binding  all  together  like  a 
corner-stone,  but  not  crushing  everything  like  a  millstone.  Unkind 
and  domineering  husbands  ought  not  to  pretend  to  be  Christians, 
for  they  act  clean  contrary  to  Christ's  demands.  Yet  a  home  must 
be  well  ordered,  or  it  will  become  a  Bedlam,  and  be  a  scandal  to 
the  parish.  If  the  father  drops  the  reins,  the  family-coach  will 
soon  be  in  the  ditch.  A  wise  mixture  of  love  and  firmness  will  do 
it ;  but  neither  harshness  nor  softness  alone  will  keep  home  in 
happy  order.  Home  is  no  home  where  the  children  are  not  in 
obedience:  it  is  rather  a  pain  than  a  pleasure  to  be  in  it.  Happy 
is  he  who  is  happy  in  his  children,  and  happy  are  the  children  who 
are  happy  in  their  father.  All  fathers  are  not  wise.  Some  are 
like  Eli,  and  spoil  their  children.  Not  to  cross  our  children  is  the 
way  to  make  a  cross  of  them  Those  who  never  give  their  children 
the  rod  must  not  wonder  if  their  children  become  a  rod  to  them. 
Solomon  says:  "  Correct  thy  son,  and  he  shall  give  thee  rest;  yea, 
he  shall  give  delight  to  thy  soul."  I  am  not  clear  that  anybody 
wiser  than  Solomon  lives  in  our  time,  though  some  think  they  are. 
Young  colts  must  be  broken  in,  or  they  will  make  wild  horses. 
Some  fathers  are  all  fire  and  fury,  filled  with  passion  at  the  smallest 
fault ;  this  is  worse  than  the  other,  and  makes  home  a  little  hell 
instead  of  a  heaven.  No  wind  makes  the  miller  idle,  but  too  much 
upsets  the  mill  altogether.  Men  who  strike  in  their  anger  generally 
miss  their  mark.  When  God  helps  us  to  hold  the  reins  firmly,  but 
not  to  hurt  the  horses'  mouths,  all  goes  well.  When  home  is  ruled 
according  to  God's  Word,  angels  might  be  asked  to  stay  a  night 
with  us,  and  they  would  not  find  themselves  out  of  their  element. 

Wives  should  feel  that  home  is  their  place  and  their  kingdom, 
the  happiness  of  which  depends  mostly  upon  them.  She  is  a 
wicked  wife  who  drives  her  husband  away  by  her  long  tongue.     A 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  453 

man  said  to  his  wife  the  other  day,  "  Double  up  your  whip.  "  He 
meant,  keep  your  tongue  quiet:  it  is  wretched  living  with  such  a 
whip  always  lashing  you.  When  God  gave  to  men  ten  measures  of 
speech,  they  say  the  women  ran  away  with  nine,  and  in  some  cases 
I  am  afraid  the  saying  is  true.  A  dirty,  slatternly,  gossiping  wife 
is  enough  to  drive  her  husband  mad ;  and  if  he  goes  to  the  public- 
house  of  an  evening,  she  is  the  cause  of  it.  It  is  doleful  living 
where  the  wife,  instead  of  reverencing  her  husband,  is  always 
wrangling  and  railing  at  him.  It  must  be  a  good  thing  when  such 
women  are  hoarse,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  they  have  not  as  many 
blisters  on  their  tongues  as  they  have  teeth  in  their  jaws.  God 
save  us  all  from  wives  who  are  angels  in  the  streets,  saints  in  the 
church,  and  devils  at  home !  I  have  never  tasted  of  such  bitter 
herbs,  but  I  pity  from  my  very  heart  those  who  have  this  diet 
every  day  of  their  lives. 

Show  me  a  loving  husband,  a  worthy  wife,  and  good  children, 
and  no  pair  of  horses  that  ever  flew  along  the  road  could  take  me 
in  a  year  where  I  could  see  a  more  pleasing  sight.  Home  is  the 
grandest  of  all  institutions.  Talk  about  parliament,  give  me  a  quiet 
little  parlor.  Boast  about  voting  and  the  Reform  Bill  if  you  like, 
but  I  go  in  for  weeding  the  little  garden  and  teaching  the  children 
their  hymns.  Franchise  may  be  a  very  fine  thing,  but  I  should  a 
good  deal  sooner  get  the  freehold  of  my  cottage,  if  I  could  find 
the  money  to  buy  it.  Magna  Charta  I  don't  know  much  about; 
but  if  it  means  a  quiet  home  for  everybody,  three  cheers  for  it. 

I  wish  our  governors  would  not  break  up  so  many  poor  men's 
homes  by  that  abominably  heartless  Poor  law.  It  is  far  more  fit 
for  a  set  of  Red  Indians  than  Englishmen.  A  Hampshire  carter 
told  me  the  other  day  that  his  wife  and  children  were  all  in  the 
union  and  his  home  broken  up,  because  of  the  cruel  working  of 
the  Poor  law.  He  had  eight  little  ones  and  his  wife  to  keep  on 
nine  shillings  a  week,  with  rent  to  pay  out  of  it;  on  this  he  could 
not  keep  body  and  soul  together.  Now  if  the  parish  had  allowed 
him  a  mere  trifle,  a  loaf  or  two  and  a  couple  of  shillings  a  week, 
he  would  have  jogged  on ;  but  no,  not  a  penny  out  of  the  house : 
they  might  all  die  of  starvation  unless  they  would  all  go  into  the 
workhouse.     So,  with  many  bitter  tears  and  heartaches,  the  poor 


454  LIFE  AND   LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

soul  had  to  sell  his  few  little  bits  of  furniture,  and  he  is  now  a 
houseless  man,  and  yet  he  is  a  good,  hard-working  fellow,  and 
served  one  master  nearly  twenty  years.  Such  things  are  very  com- 
mon, but  they  ought  not  to  be.  Why  cannot  the  really  deserving 
poor  have  a  little  help  given  them  ?  Why  must  they  be  forced  into 
the  union  house?  Home  is  the  pillar  of  the  British  Empire,  and 
ought  not  to  be  knocked  to  pieces  by  these  unchristian  laws.  I 
wish  I  was  an  orator  and  could  talk  politics :  I  would  not  care  a 
rush  for  Whigs  or  Tories,  but  I  would  stand  up  like  a  lion  for  the 
poor  man's  home,  which,  let  me  tell  the  Lords  and  Commons,  is 
as  dear  to  him  as  their  great  palaces  are  to  them,  and  sometimes 
dearer. 

If  I  had  no  home  the  world  would  be  a  big  prison  to  me.  Eng- 
lajid  for  me  a  country,  Surrey  for  a  county,  and  for  a  village  give 
me  —  no,  I  sha'n't  tell  you,  or  you  will  be  hunting  John  Plough- 
man tip.  Many  of  my  friends  have  emigrated,  and  are  breaking 
up  fresh  soil  in  Australia  and  America.  Though  their  stone  has 
rolled,  I  hope  they  may  gather  moss,  for  when  they  were  at  home 
they  were  like  the  sitting  hen  which  gets  no  barley.  Really  these 
hard  times  make  a  man  think  of  his  wings,  but  I  am  tied  by  the 
leg  to  my  own  home,  and,  please  God,  I  hope  to  live  and  die 
among  my  own  people.  They  may  do  things  better  in  France 
and  Germany,  but  old  England  for  me,  after  all. 


DON'T   CUT   OFF   YOUR   NOSE   TO   SPITE   YOUR   FACE. 

Anger  is  a  short  madness.  The  less  we  do  when  we  go  mad 
the  better  for  everybody,  and  the  less  we  go  mad  the  better  for 
ourselves.  He  is  far  gone  who  hurts  himself  to  wreak  his  vengeance 
on  others.  The  old  saying  is :  "  Don't  cut  off  your  head  because 
it  aches;  "  and  another  says:  "  Set  not  your  house  on  fire  to  spite 
the  moon."  If  things  go  awry,  it  is  a  poor  way  of  mending  to 
make  them  worse,  as  the  man  did  who  took  to  drinking  because 
he  could  not  marry  the  girl  he  liked.     He  must  be  a  fool  who  cuts 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  455 

off  his  nose  to  spite  his  face ;  and  yet  this  is  what  Dick  did  when 
he  had  vexed  his  old  master,  and  because  he  was  chid  must  needs 
give  up  his  place,  throw  himself  out  of  work,  and  starve  his  wife 
and  family.  Jane  had  been  idle,  and  she  knew  it ;  but  sooner  than 
let  her  mistress  speak  to  her,  she  gave  warning,  and  lost  as  good 
a  service  as  a  maid  could  wish  for.  Old  Griggs  was  wrong,  and 
could  not  deny  it;  and  yet  because  the  parson's  sermon  fitted 
him  rather  close,  he  took  the  sulks,  and  vowed  he  would  never  hear 
the  good  man  again.  It  was  his  own  loss,  but  he  would  n't  listen 
to  reason,  but  was  as  wilful  as  a  pig. 


Do  nothing  when  you  are  out  of  temper,  and  then  you  will  have 
the  less  to  undo.  Let  a  hasty  man's  passion  be  a  warning  to  you : 
if  he  scalds  you,  take  heed  that  you  do  not  let  your  own  pot  boil 
over.  Many  a  man  has  given  himself  a  box  on  the  ear  in  his  blind 
rage ;  ay,  and  ended  his  own  life  out  of  spite !  He  who  cannot 
curb  his  temper  carries  gunpowder  in  his  bosom,  and  he  is  neither 
safe  for  himself  nor  his  neighbors.  When  passion  comes  in  at  the 
door,  what  little  sense  there  is  indoors  flies  out  at  the  window.  By 
and  by  a  hasty  man  cools  and  comes  to  himself,  like  MacGibbon's 
gruel  when  he  put  it  out  of  the  window;   but  if  his  nose  is  off,  in 


45^  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.   SPURGEON. 

the  mean  time,  who  is  to  put  it  on  again?  He  will  only  be  sorry 
once,  and  that  will  be  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  Anger  does  a  man 
more  hurt  than  that  which  made  him  angry.  It  opens  his  mouth 
and  shuts  his  eyes,  and  fires  his  heart  and  drowns  his  sense,  and 
makes  his  wisdom  folly.  Old  Tompkins  told  me  that  he  was  sorry 
that  he  lost  his  temper,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  the 
pity  was  that  he  ever  found  it  again,  for  it  was  like  an  old  shoe 
with  the  sole  gone  and  the  upper  leathers  worn  out,  only  fit  for  a 
dunghill.  A  hot-tempered  rnan  would  be  all  the  better  for  a  new 
heart  and  a  right  spirit.  Anger  is  a  fire  which  cooks  no  victuals 
and  comforts  no  household :  it  cuts  and  curses  and  kills,  and  no 
one  knows  what  it  may  lead  to ;  therefore,  good  reader,  don't  let 
it  lodge  in  your  bosom,  and  if  it  ever  comes  there,  pass  the  vagrant 
on  to  the  next  parish. 

Gently,  gently,  little  pot ; 
Why  so  hasty  to  be  hot  .'* 
Over  you  will  surely  boil, 
And  I  know  not  what  you  '11  spoil. 

The  old  gent  in  our  picture  has  a  fine  nose  of  his  own,  and 
though  he  will  be  a  fool  to  cut  it  off,  he  would  be  wise  to  cut  off 
the  supplies  which  have  made  it  such  a  size.  That  glass  and  jug 
on  the  table  are  the  paint-pots  that  he  colors  his  nose  with,  and 
everybody  knows,  whether  he  knows  it  or  knows  it  not,  that  his 
nose  is  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  a  good  deal  of  inward  and 
spirituous  drink,  and  the  sooner  he  drops  his  drops  the  better.  So 
here  we  will  cut  off,  not  our  nose,  but  the  present  subject. 


LIKE   CAT   LIKE   KIT. 

Most  men  are  what  their  mothers  made  them.  The  father  is 
away  from  home  all  day,  and  has  not  half  the  influence  over  the 
children  that  the  mother  has.  The  cow  has  most  to  do  with  the 
calf.  If  a  ragged  colt  grows  into  a  good  horse,  we  know  who  it 
is  that  combed  him.     A  mother  is  therefore   a  very  responsible 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES." 


457 


woman,  even  though  she  may  be  the  poorest  in  the  land,  for  the 
bad  or  the  good  of  her  boys  and  girls  very  much  depends  upon 
her.  As  is  the  gardener,  such  is  the  garden ;  as  is  the  wife,  such 
is  the  family.  Samuel's  mother  made  him  a  little  coat  every  year, 
but  she  had  done  a  deal  for  him  before  that :  Samuel  would  not 
have  been  Samuel  if  Hannah  had  not  been  Hannah.  We  shall 
never  see  a  better  set  of  men  till  the  mothers  are  better.  We  must 
have  Sarahs  and  Rebekahs  before  we  shall  see  Isaacs  and  Jacobs. 


Grace  does  not  run  in  the  blood,  but  we  generally  find  that  the 
Timothies  have  mothers  of  a  goodly  sort. 

Little  children  give  their  mother  the  headache ;  but  if  she  lets 
them  have  their  own  way,  when  they  grow  up  to  be  great  children 
they  will  give  her  the  heartache.  Foolish  fondness  spoils  many, 
and  letting  faults  alone  spoils  more.  Gardens  that  are  never 
weeded  will  grow  very  little  worth  gathering;  all  watering  and 
no  hoeing  will  make  a  bad  crop.  A  child  may  have  too  much 
of  its  mother's  love,  and  in  the  long  run  it  may  turn  out  that  it 
had  too  little.  Soft-hearted  mothers  rear  soft-hearted  children; 
they  hurt  them  for  life  because  they  are  afraid  of  hurting  them 


458  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

when  they  are  young.  Coddle  your  children,  and  they  will  turn 
out  noodles.  You  may  sugar  a  child  till  everybody  is  sick  of  it. 
Boys'  jackets  need  a  little  dusting  every  now  and  then,  and  girls' 
dresses  are  all  the  better  for  occasional  trimming.  Children  with- 
out chastisement  are  fields  without  ploughing.  The  very  best  colts 
want  breaking  in.  Not  that  we  hke  severity;  cruel  mothers  are 
not  mothers,  and  those  who  are  always  flogging  and  fault-finding 
ought  to  be  flogged  themselves.  There  is  reason  in  all  things,  as 
the  madman  said  when  he  cut  off  his  nose. 

Good  mothers  are  very  dear  to  their  children.  There  's  no 
mother  in  the  world  like  our  own  mother.  My  friend  Sanders, 
from  Glasgow,  says,  "  The  mither's  breath  is  aye  sweet."  Every 
woman  is  a  handsome  woman  to  her  own  son.  That  man  is  not 
worth  hanging  who  does  not  love  his  mother.  When  good  women 
lead  their  little  ones  to  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  blesses  not 
only  the  children,  but  their  mothers  as  well.  Happy  are  they 
among  women  who  see  their  sons  and  their  daughters  walking  in 
the  truth. 

He  who  thinks  it  easy  to  bring  up  a  family  never  had  one  of  his 
own.  A  mother  who  trains  her  children  aright  had  need  be  wiser 
than  Solomon,  for  his  son  turned  out  a  fool.  Some  children  are 
perverse  from  their  infancy :  none  are  born  perfect,  but  some  have 
a  double  share  of  imperfections.  Do  what  you  will  with  some  chil- 
dren, they  don't  improve.  Wash  a  dog,  comb  a  dog,  still  a  dog  is 
but  a  dog:  trouble  seems  thrown  away  on  some  children.  Such 
cases  are  meant  to  drive  us  to  God,  for  He  can  turn  blackamoors 
white,  and  cleanse  out  the  leopard's  spots.  It  is  clear  that  what- 
ever faults  our  children  have,  we  are  their  parents,  and  we  cannot 
find  fault  with  the  stock  they  came  of.  Wild  geese  do  not  lay 
tame  eggs.  That  which  is  born  of  a  hen  will  be  sure  to  scratch  in 
the  dust.  The  child  of  a  cat  will  hunt  after  mice.  Every  creature 
follows  its  kind.  If  we  are  black,  we  cannot  blame  our  offspring 
if  they  are  dark  too.  Let  us  do  our  best  with  them,  and  pray  the 
mighty  Lord  to  put  His  hand  to  the  work.  Children  of  prayer  will 
grow  up  to  be  children  of  praise ;  mothers  who  have  wept  before 
God  for  their  sons  will  one  day  sing  a  new  song  over  them.  Some 
colts   often   break  the  halter,   and   yet   become   quiet   in   harness. 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S  TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  459 

God  can  make  those  new  whom  we  cannot  mend,  therefore  let 
mothers  never  despair  of  their  children  as  long  as  they  live.  Are 
they  away  from  you  across  the  sea?  Remember,  the  Lord  is  there 
as  well  as  here.  Prodigals  may  wander,  but  they  are  never  out  of 
sight  of  the  Great  Father,  even  though  they  may  be  "  a  great 
way  off." 

Let  mothers  labor  to  make  home  the  happiest  place  in  the 
world.  If  they  are  always  nagging  and  grumbling  they  will  lose 
their  hold  of  their  children,  and  the  boys  will  be  tempted  to  spend 
their  evenings  away  from  home.  Home  is  the  best  place  for  boys 
and  men,  and  a  good  mother  is  the  soul  of  home.  The  smile  of  a 
mother's  face  has  enticed  many  into  the  right  path,  and  the  fear 
of  bringing  a  tear  into  her  eye  has  called  off  many  a  man  from 
evil  ways.  The  boy  may  have  a  heart  of  iron,  but  his  mother  can 
hold  him  like  a  magnet.  The  devil  never  reckons  a  man  to  be 
lost  so  long  as  he  has  a  good  mother  alive.  Oh,  woman,  great  is 
thy  power !  See  to  it  that  it  be  used  for  Him  who  thought  of  His 
mother  even  in  the  agonies  of  death. 


VERY   IGNORANT   PEOPLE. 

I  HAVE  heard  tell  of  a  man  who  did  not  know  a  great  A  from  a 
bull's  foot,  and  I  know  a  good  many  who  certainly  could  not  tell 
what  great  A,  or  little  A  either,  may  mean ;  but  some  of  these 
people  are  not  the  most  ignorant  in  the  world  for  all  that.  For 
instance,  they  know  a  cow's  head  from  its  tail,  and  one  of  the 
election  gentlemen  said  lately  that  the  candidate  from  London  did 
not  know  that.  They  know  that  turnips  don't  grow  on  trees,  and 
they  can  tell  a  mangel-wurzel  from  a  beet-root,  and  a  rabbit 
from  a  hare,  and  there  are  fine  folk  who  play  on  pianos  who  could 
hardly  know  as  much  as  that.  If  they  cannot  read  they  can 
plough  and  mow,  and  reap  and  sow,  and  bring  up  seven  children 
on  ten  shillings  a  week,  and  yet  pay  their  way ;  and  there  's  a 
sight  of  people  who  are  much  too  ignorant  to  do  that.  Igno- 
rance of  spelling-books  is  very  bad,  but  ignorance  of  hard  work  is 


460  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEOX. 

worse.  Wisdom  does  not  always  speak  Latin.  People  laugh  at 
smock-frocks,  and  indeed  they  are  about  as  ugly  garments  as  could 
well  be  contrived ;  but  some  who  wear  them  are  not  half  such  fools 
as  people  take  them  for.  If  no  ignorant  people  ate  bread  but 
those  who  wear  hobnail  shoes,  corn  would  be  a  fine  deal  cheaper. 
Wisdom  in  a  poor  man  is  like  a  diamond  set  in  lead,  only  judges 
can  see  its  value.  Wisdom  walks  often  in  patched  shoes,  and  men 
admire  her  not ;  but  I  say,  never  mind  the  coat,  give  me  the  man : 
nutshells  are  nothing,  the  kernel  is  everything.  You  need  not 
go  to  Pirbright  to  find  ignoramuses,  there  are  heaps  of  them  near 
St.  Paul's. 

I  would  have  everybody  able  to  read  and  write  and  cipher ; 
indeed,  I  don't  think  a  man  can  know  too  much ;  but,  mark  you, 
the  knowing  of  these  things  is  not  education,  and  there  are  mil- 
lions of  your  reading  and  writing  people  who  are  as  ignorant  as 
neighbor  Norton's  calf,  that  did  not  know  its  own  mother.  This 
is  as  plain  as  the  nose  on  your  face,  if  you  only  think  a  little.  To 
know  how  to  read  and  write  is  like  having  tools  to  work  with ;  but 
if  you  don't  use  these  tools,  and  your  eyes  and  your  ears  too,  you 
will  be  none  the  better  off.  Everybody  should  know  what  most 
concerns  him  and  makes  him  most  useful.  It  is  little  use  for  a 
horse  to  know  how  to  fly,  it  will  do  well  enough  if  it  can  trot.  A 
man  on  a  farm  ought  to  learn  all  that  belongs  to  farming,  a  black- 
smith should  study  a  horse's  foot,  a  dair}'maid  should  be  well  up 
in  skimming  the  milk  and  making  the  butter,  and  a  laborer's  wife 
should  be  a  good  scholar  in  the  sciences  of  boiling  and  baking, 
washing  and  mending;  and  John  Ploughman  ventures  to  say  that 
those  men  and  women  who  have  not  learned  the  duties  of  their 
callings  are  very  ignorant  people,  even  if  they  can  tell  the  Greek 
name  for  a  crocodile,  or  write  an  ode  on  a  black-beetle.     It  is  too 

often  very  true,  — 

"Jack  has  been  to  school 
To  learn  to  be  a  fool." 

When  a  man  falls  into  the  water,  to  know  how  to  swim  will  be  of 
more  use  to  him  than  all  his  mathematics ;  and  yet  how  very  few 
boys  learn  swimming.  Girls  are  taught  dancing  and  French, 
when  stitching  and  English  would  be  a  hundred  per  cent  more  use 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  461 

to  them.  When  men  have  to  earn  their  livings  in  these  hard 
times,  a  good  trade  and  industrious  habits  will  serve  their  turn  a 
world  better  than  all  the  classics  in  Cambridge  and  Oxford  ;  but  who 
now-a-days  advocates  practical  training  at  our  schools?  School- 
masters would  go  into  fits  if  they  were  asked  to  teach  poor  people's 
boys  to  hoe  potatoes  and  plant  cauliflowers.  If  you  want  a  dog 
to  be  a  pointer  or  a  setter,  you  train  him  accordingly :  why  ever 
don't  they  do  the  same  with  men?  It  ought  to  be,  "  Every  man 
for  his  business,  and  every  man  master  of  his  business."  Let  Jack 
and  Tom  learn  geography  by  all  means,  but  don't  forget  to  teach 
them  how  to  black  their  own  boots  and  put  a  button  on  to  their 
own  trousers  ;  and  as  for  Jane  and  Sally,  let  them  sing  and  play  the 
music  if  they  like,  but  not  till  they  can  darn  a  stocking  and  make 
a  shirt.  When  they  bring  on  the  new  act  for  general  education,  I 
hope  they  will  put  in  a  clause  to  teach  children  practical  common- 
sense  home  duties,  as  well  as  the  three  R's  and  the  folderols  which 
I  think  they  call  "  accomplishments."  There  's  poor  Gent  with  six 
girls,  and  about  fifty  pounds  a  year  to  keep  his  family  on,  and  yet 
not  one  of  them  can  do  a  hand's  turn,  because  their  mother  would 
go  into  fits  lest  Miss  Sophia  Elfrida  should  have  chapped  hands 
through  washing  the  family  linen,  or  lest  Alexandra  Theodora 
should  spoil  her  complexion  in  picking  a  few  gooseberries  for  a 
pudding.  It 's  enough  to  make  a  cat  laugh  to  hear  the  poor  things 
talk  about  fashion  and  etiquette,  when  they  are  not  half  so  well  off 
as  the  higgler's  daughters  down  the  lane,  who  earn  their  own  living, 
and  are  laying  money  by  against  the  time  when  some  young  farmer 
will  pick  them  up.  Trust  me,  he  who  marries  these  highty-tighty 
young  ladies  will  have  as  bad  a  bargain  as  if  he  married  a  wax 
doll.  How  the  fat  would  be  in  the  fire  if  Mrs.  Gent  heard  me  say 
it !  but  I  do  say  it  for  all  that :  she  and  the  girls  are  ignorant,  very 
ignorant,  because  they  do  not  know  what  would  be  of  most  service 
to  them. 

Every  sprat  now-a-days  calls  itself  a  herring;  every  donkey 
thinks  itself  fit  to  be  one  of  the  queen's  horses ;  every  candle 
thinks  itself  the  sun.  But  when  a  man  with  his  best  coat  on,  and 
a  paper  collar,  a  glass  in  his  eye,  a  brass  chain  on  his  waistcoat, 
a  cane  in  his  hand,  and  emptiness  in  his  head,  fancies  that  people 


462  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

cannot  see  through  his  swaggers  and  brags,  he  must  be  ignorant, 
very  ignorant,  for  he  does  not  know  himself.  Flats,  dressed  up  to 
the  top  of  the  fashion,  think  themselves  somebodies,  but  nobody- 
else  does.  Dancing-masters  and  tailors  may  rig  up  a  fop,  but 
they  cannot  make  a  nothing  into  a  man.  You  may  color  a  mill- 
stone as  much  as  you  like,  but  you  cannot  improve  it  into  a 
cheese. 

When  tradesmen  put  their  earnings  into  companies  and  expect 
to  see  it  again ;  when  they  take  shares  in  railways  and  look  for 
dividends ;  when  they  lend  money  at  high  interest  and  think  to 
make  their  fortunes,  they  must  be  ignorant,  very  ignorant.  As  well 
hang  a  wooden  kettle  over  the  fire  and  get  ready  for  tea,  or  sow 
beans  in  a  river  and  look  for  a  fine  crop. 

When  men  believe  in  lawyers  and  money-lenders  (whether  Jews 
or  Gentiles),  and  borrow  money  and  speculate,  and  think  them- 
selves lucky  fellows,  they  are  shamefully  ignorant.  The  very 
gander  on  the  common  would  not  make  such  a  stupid  of  him- 
self, for  he  knows  when  any  one  tries  to  pluck  him,  and  won't 
lose  his  feathers  and  pride  himself  in  the  operation. 

The  man  who  spends  his  money  with  the  publican,  and  thinks 
that  the  landlord's  bows  and  "How  do  ye  do,  my  good  fellow?" 
mean  true  respect,  is  a  perfect  natural ;   for  with  them  it  is,  — 


If  you  have  money,  take  a  seat ; 
If  you  have  none,  take  to  your  feet. 


The  fox  admires  the  cheese,  not  the  raven.  The  bait  is  not  put 
into  the  trap  to  feed  the  mouse,  but  to  catch  him.  We  don't  light 
a  fire  for  the  herring's  comfort,  but  to  roast  him.  Men  do  not 
keep  pot-houses  for  the  laborer's  good;  if  they  do  they  certainly 
miss  their  aim.  Why,  then,  should  people  drink  "  for  the  good 
of  the  house  "  ?  If  I  spend  money  for  the  good  of  any  house,  let 
it  be  my  own,  and  not  the  landlord's.  It 's  a  bad  well  into  which 
you  must  put  water ;  and  the  beerhouse  is  a  bad  friend,  because 
it  takes  your  all,  and  leaves  you  nothing  but  heeltaps  and  head- 
aches. He  who  calls  those  his  friends  who  let  him  sit  and  drink 
by  the  hour  together  is  ignorant,  very  ignorant.  Why,  Red  Lions 
and  Tigers  aad  Eagles  and  Vultures  are  all  creatures  of  prey,  and 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  463 

why  do  SO  many  put  themselves  within  the  power  of  their  jaws 
and  talons? 

He  who  believes  that  either  Whigs  or  Tories  will  let  us  off  Avith 
light  taxes,  must  have  been  born  on  the  day  after  the  last  of 
March ;  and  he  who  imagines  that  parish  boards  and  vestries  will 
ever  have  either  heads  or  bowels,  must  have  been  educated  in  an 
idiot  asylum.  He  who  believes  in  promises  made  at  elections  has 
long  ears,  and  may  try  to  eat  thistles.  Mr.  Plausible  has  been 
round  asking  all  the  working  men  for  their  votes,  and  he  will  do 
all  sorts  of  good  things  for  them.  Will  he?  Yes,  the  day  after 
to-morrow,  a  little  later  than  never.  Poor  men  who  expect  the 
"  friends  of  the  working  man  "  to  do  anything  for  them  must  be 
ignorant,  very  ignorant.  When  they  get  their  seats,  of  course  they 
cannot  stand  up  for  their  principles,  except  when  it  is  to  their 
interest  to  do  so. 

To  lend  umbrellas  and  look  to  have  them  sent  home,  to  do  a 
man  a  good  turn  and  expect  another  from  him  when  you  want  it, . 
to  hope  to  stop  some  women's  tongues,  to  try  to  please  every- 
body, to  hope  to  hear  gossips  speak  well  of  you,  or  to  get  the 
truth  of  a  story  from  common  report,  —  is  all  evidence  of  great 
ignorance.  Those  who  know  the  world  best  trust  it  least;  those 
who  trust  it  at  all  are  not  wise ;  as  well  trust  a  horse's  heel  or  a 
dog's  tooth.  Trusting  to  others  ruins  many.  He  who  leaves  his 
business  to  bailiffs  and  servants,  and  believes  that  it  will  be  well 
done,  must  be  ignorant,  very  ignorant.  The  mouse  knows  when 
the  cat  is  out  of  the  house,  and  servants  know  when  the  master 
is  away.  No  sooner  is  the  eye  of  the  master  gone  than  the  hand 
of  the  workman  slackens.  "  I  'U  go  myself,"  and  "  I  '11  see  to  it,"  are 
two  good  servants  on  a  farm.  Those  who  lie  in  bed  and  reckon 
that  their  trade  will  carry  on. itself  are  ignorant,  very  ignorant. 

Such  as  drink  and  live  riotously,  and  wonder  why  their  faces  are 
so  blotchy  and  their  pockets  so  bare,  would  leave  off  wondering 
if  they  had  two  grains  of  wisdom.  They  might  as  well  ask  an 
elm-tree  for  pears  as  look  to  loose  habits  for  health  and  wealth. 
Those  who  go  to  the  public-house  for  happiness  climb  a  tree  to 
find  fish.  We  might  put  all  their  wit  in  an  eggshell,  or  they 
would  never  be  such  dupes  as  to  hunt  after  comfort  where  it  is 


464  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

no  more  to  be  found  than  a  cow  in  a  crow's  nest ;  but,  alas  !  good- 
for-nothings  are  common  as  mice  in  a  wheat-rick.  I  only  wish  we 
could  pack  them  off  to  Lubbcrland,  where  they  have  half  a  crown 
a  day  for  sleeping.  If  some  one  could  let  them  see  the  sure  result 
of  ill  living,  perhaps  they  might  reform ;  and  yet  I  don't  know, 
for  they  do  see  it,  and  yet  go  on  all  the  same,  like  a  moth  that 
gets  singed  and  flies  into  the  candle  again.  Certainly,  for  loiter- 
ing lushingtons  to  expect  to  thrive  by  keeping  their  hands  in  their 
pockets,  or  their  noses  in  a  pewter  pot,  proves  them  to  be  ignorant, 
very  ignorant. 

When  I  see  a  young  lady  with  a  flower  garden  on  her  head 
and  a  draper's  shop  on  her  body,  tossing  her  head  about  as  if  she 
thought  everybody  was  charmed  with  her,  I  am  sure  she  must 
be  ignorant,  very  ignorant.  Sensible  men  don't  marry  a  wardrobe 
or  a  bonnet-box ;  they  want  a  woman  of  sense,  and  these  dress 
sensibly. 

To  my  mind,  those  who  sneer  at  religion  and  set  themselves 
up  to  be  too  knowing  to  believe  in  the  Bible  are  shallow  fellows. 
They  generally  use  big  words  and  bluster  a  great  deal ;  but  if 
they  fancy  they  can  overturn  the  faith  of  thinking  people,  who 
have  tried  and  proved  the  power  of  the  grace  of  God,  they  must 
be  ignorant,  very  ignorant.  He  who  looks  at  the  sunrise  and  the 
sunset,  and  does  not  see  the  footprints  of  God,  must  be  inwardly 
blinder  than  a  mole,  and  only  fit  to  live  under  ground.  God  seems 
to  talk  to  me  in  every  primrose  and  daisy,  to  smile  upon  me  from 
every  star,  to  whisper  to  me  in  every  breath  of  morning  air,  and 
call  aloud  to  me  in  every  storm.  They  say  that  man  is  the  god  of 
the  dog:  that  man  must  be  worse  than  a  dog  who  will  not  listen  to 
the  voice  of  God,  for  a  dog  follows  at  his  master's  whistle.  They 
call  themselves  philosophers,  don't  they?  Their  proper  name  is 
fools,  for  the  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  "  There  is  no  God."  The 
sheep  know  when  rain  is  coming,  the  swallows  foresee  the  winter, 
and  even  the  pigs,  they  say,  can  see  the  wind  ;  how  much  worse 
than  a  brute  must  he  be  who  lives  where  God  is  everywhere  pres- 
ent, and  yet  sees  Him  not !  So  you  see  a  man  may  be  a  great 
hand  at  learning,  and  yet  be  igJiora?it,  very  ignorant. 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S    TALK"   AND    "PICTURES." 


465 


HE   LOOKS   ONE   WAY   AND    PULLS    THE   OTHER. 

He  faces  the  shore,  but  he  is  pulhng  for  the  ship :  this  is  the 
way  of  those  who  row  in  boats,  and  also  of  a  great  many  who 
never  trust  themselves  on  the  water.  The  boatman  is  all  right, 
but  the  hypocrite  is  all  wrong,  whatever  rites  he  may  practise. 
I  cannot  endure  Mr.  Facing-both-ways,  yet  he  has  swarms  of 
cousins. 

It  is  ill  to  be  a  saint  without  and  a  devil  within,  to  be  a  ser- 
vant of  Christ  before  the  world  in  order  to  serve  the  ends  of  self 


and  the  devil,  while  inwardly  the  heart  hates  all  good  things. 
There  are  good  and  bad  of  all  classes,  and  hypocrites  can  be  found 
among  ploughmen  as  well  as  among  parsons.  It  used  to  be  so  in 
the  olden  times,  for  I  remember  an  old  verse  which  draws  out  just 
such  a  character :   the  man  says,  — 

30 


466  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPliRGEON. 

"  I  "II  have  a  religion  all  of  my  own, 
Whether  Papist  or  Protestant  shall  not  be  known  ; 
And  if  it  proves  troublesome  I  will  have  none." 

In  our  Lord's  day  many  followed  Him,  but  it  was  only  for  the 
loaves  and  fishes :  they  do  say  that  some  in  our  parish  don't  go 
quite  so  straight  as  the  Jews  did,  for  they  go  to  the  church  for 
the  loaves,  and  then  go  over  to  the  Baptist  chapel  for  the  fishes. 
I  don't  want  to  judge,  but  I  certainly  do  know  some  who,  if  they 
do  not  care  much  for  faith,  are  always  following  after  charity. 

Better  die  than  sell  your  soul  to  the  highest  bidder.  Better  be 
shut  up  in  the  workhouse  than  fatten  upon  hypocrisy.  Whatever 
else  we  barter,  let  us  never  try  to  turn  a  penny  by  religion,  for 
hypocrisy  is  the  meanest  vice  a  man  can  come  to. 

It  is  a  base  thing  to  call  yourself  Christ's  horse,  and  yet  carry 
the  devil's  saddle.  The  worst  kind  of  wolf  is  that  which  wears  a 
sheep's  skin.  Jezebel  was  never  so  ugly  as  when  she  had  finished 
painting  her  face.  Above  all  things,  then,  brother  laborers,  let  us 
be  straight  as  an  arrow  and  true  as  a  die,  and  never  let  us  be  time- 
servers  or  turncoats.  Never  let  us  carry  two  faces  under  one  hat, 
nor  blow  hot  and  cold  with  the  same  breath. 


DEBT. 


When  I  was  a  very  small  boy,  in  pinafores,  and  went  to  a 
woman's  school,  it  so  happened  that  I  wanted  a  stick  of  slate-pen- 
cil, and  had  no  money  to  buy  it  with.  I  was  afraid  of  being  scolded 
for  losing  my  pencils  so  often,  for  I  was  a  real  careless  little  fellow, 
and  so  did  not  dare  to  ask  at  home ;  what  then  was  John  to  do  ? 
There  was  a  little  shop  in  the  place,  where  nuts  and  tops  and 
cakes  and  balls  were  sold  by  old  Mrs.  Dearson,  and  sometimes  I 
had  seen  boys  and  girls  get  trusted  by  the  old  lady.  I  argued  with 
myself  that  Christmas  was  coming,  and  that  somebody  or  other 
would  be  sure  to  give  me  a  penny  then,  and  perhaps  even  a  whole 
silver  sixpence.     I  would  therefore  go  into  debt  for  a  stick  of 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  467 

slate-pencil,  and  be  sure  to  pay  at  Christmas.     I  did  not  feel  easy 
about  it,  but  still  I  screwed  my  courage  up,  and  went  into  the  shop. 
One  farthing  was  the  amount,  and  as  I  had  never  owed  anything 
before,  and  my  credit  was  good,  the  pencil  was  handed  over  by 
the  kind  dame,  and  /  zuas  in  debt.    It  did  not  please  me  much,  and 
I  felt  as  if  I  had  done  wrong,  but  I  little  knew  how  soon  I  should 
smart  for  it.     How  my  father  came  to  hear  of  this  little  stroke  of 
business  I  never  knew,  but  some  little  bird  or  other  whistled  it  to 
him,  and  he  was  very  soon  down  upon  me  in  right  earnest.     God 
bless    him   for  it!    He  was  a    sensible  man,    and    none    of    your 
children-spoilers;   he  did  not  intend  to  bring  up  his  children    to 
speculate  and  play  at  w^iat  big  rogues   call  financing,  and  there- 
fore he  knocked  my  getting  into  debt  on  the  head  at  once,  and 
no  mistake.     He  gave  me    a  very  powerful  lecture  upon  getting 
into  debt,  and  how  like   it  was  to  stealing,  and  upon   the   way  in 
which  people  were  ruined  by  it ;   and  how  a  boy  who  would  owe 
a  farthing  might  one  day  owe   a    hundred    pounds,  and  get  into 
prison  and  bring  his  family  into  disgrace.     It  was  a  lecture    in- 
deed ;   I  think  I  can  hear  it  now,  and  can  feel  my  ears  tingling  at 
the  recollection  of  it.     Then  I  was  marched  off  to  the  shop  like  a 
deserter  marched  into  barracks,  crying  bitterly  all  down  the  street, 
and  feeling  dreadfully  ashamed,  because  I  thought  everybody  knew 
I  was  in  debt.     The  farthing  was  paid  amid  many  solemn  warn- 
ings, and  the  poor  debtor  was  set  free,  like  a  bird  let  out  of  a  cage. 
How  sweet  it  felt  to  be  out  of  debt !    How  did  my  little  heart  vow 
and  declare  that  nothing  should  ever  tempt  me  into  debt  again  ! 
It  was  a  fine  lesson,  and   I  have  never  forgotten  it.     If  all  boys 
were  inoculated  with  the  same  doctrine  when  they  were  youno-, 
it  would  be  as  good  as  a  fortune  to  them,  and  save  them  wagon- 
loads   of  trouble   in    after  life.     God  bless   my  father,   say  I,  and 
send  a  breed  of  such  fathers  into  old  England  to  save  her  from  be- 
ing eaten  up  with  villany;  for  what  with  companies  and  schemes 
and  paper  money,  the  nation  is  getting  to  be  as  rotten  as  touch- 
wood. 

Ever  since  that  early  sickening  I  have  hated  debt  as  Luther 
hated  the  Pope,  and  if  I  say  some  fierce  things  about  it,  you  must 
not  wonder.     To  keep  debt,  dirt,  and  the  devil  out  of  my  cottage 


468  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

has  been  my  greatest  wish  ever  since  I  set  up  housekeeping;  and 
although  the  last  of  the  three  has  sometimes  got  in  by  the  door  or 
the  window,  for  the  old  serpent  will  wriggle  through  the  smallest 
crack,  yet  thanks  to  a  good  wife,  hard  work,  honesty,  and  scrub- 
bing-brushes, the  two  others  have  not  crossed  the  threshold.  Debt 
is  so  degrading,  that  if  I  owed  a  man  a  penny  I  would  walk  twenty 
miles,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  to  pay  him,  sooner  than  feel  that  I 
was  under  an  obligation.  I  should  be  as  comfortable  with  peas  in 
my  shoes,  or  a  hedgehog  in  my  bed,  or  a  snake  up  my  back,  as 
with  bills  hanging  over  my  head  at  the  grocer's  and  the  baker's 
and  the  tailor's.  Poverty  is  hard,  but  debt  is  horrible;  a  man 
might  as  well  have  a  smoky  house  and  a  scolding  wife,  which  are 
said  to  be  the  two  worst  evils  of  our  life.  We  may  be  poor,  and 
yet  respectable,  which  John  Ploughman  and  wife  hope  they  are 
and  will  be ;  but  a  man  in  debt  cannot  even  respect  himself,  and 
he  is  sure  to  be  talked  about  by  the  neighbors,  and  that  talk 
will  not  be  much  to  his  credit.  Some  persons  appear  to  like  to  be 
owing  money ;  but  I  would  as  soon  be  a  cat  up  a  chimney  with 
the  fire  alight,  or  a  fox  with  the  hounds  at  my  heels,  or  a  hedge- 
hog on  a  pitchfork,  or  a  mouse  under  an  owl's  claw.  An  honest 
man  thinks  a  purse  full  of  other  people's  money  to  be  worse  than 
an  empty  one ;  he  cannot  bear  to  eat  other  people's  cheese,  wear 
other  people's  shirts,  and  walk  about  in  other  people's  shoes, 
neither  will  he  be  easy  while  his  wife  is  decked  out  in  the  milli- 
ner's bonnets  and  wears  the  draper's  flannels.  The  jackdaw  in  the 
peacock's  feathers  was  soon  plucked,  and  borrowers  will  surely 
come  to  poverty,  —  a  poverty  of  the  bitterest  sort,  because  there  is 
shame  in  it. 

Living  beyond  their  incomes  is  the  ruin  of  many  of  my  neigh- 
bors ;  they  can  hardly  afford  to  keep  a  rabbit,  and  must  needs  drive 
a  pony  and  chaise.  I  am  afraid  extravagance  is  the  common 
disease  of  the  times,  and  many  professing  Christians  have  caught 
it,  to  their  shame  and  sorrow.  Good  cotton  or  stuff  gowns  are  not 
good  enough  now-a-days ;  girls  must  have  silks  and  satins,  and 
then  there  's  a  bill  at  the  dressmaker's  as  long  as  a  winter's  night, 
and  quite  as  dismal.  Show  and  style  and  smartness  run  away 
with  a  man's  means,  keep  the  family  poor,  and  the  father's  nose 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  469 

down  on  the  grindstone.  Frogs  try  to  look  as  big  as  bulls,  and 
burst  themselves.  A  pound  a  week  apes  five  hundred  a  year,  and 
comes  to  the  county  court.  Men  burn  the  candle  at  both  ends, 
and  then  say  they  are  very  unfortunate ;  why  don't  they  put  the 
saddle  on  the  right  horse,  and  say  they  are  extravagant?  Economy 
is  half  the  battle  in  life ;  it  is  not  so  hard  to  earn  money  as  to 
spend  it  well.  Hundreds  would  never  have  known  tvant  if  they 
had  not  first  known  zuaste.  If  all  poor  men's  wives  knew  how  to 
cook,  how  far  a  little  might  go  !  Our  minister  says  the  French  and 
the  Germans  beat  us  hollow  in  nice  cheap  cookery.  I  wish  they 
would  send  missionaries  over  to  convert  our  gossiping  women 
into  good  managers ;  this  is  a  French  fashion  which  would  be  a 
deal  more  useful  than  those  fine  pictures  in  Mrs.  Frippery's  win- 
dow, with  ladies  rigged  out  in  a  new  style  every  month.  Dear 
me  !  some  people  are  much  too  fine  now-a-days  to  eat  what  their 
fathers  were  thankful  to  see  on  the  table,  and  so  they  please  their 
palates  with  costly  feeding,  come  to  the  workhouse,  and  expect 
everybody  to  pity  them.  They  turned  up  their  noses  at  bread 
and  butter,  and  came  to  eat  raw  turnips  stolen  out  of  the  fields. 
They  who  live  like  fighting-cocks  at  other  men's  costs,  will .  get 
their  combs  cut,  or  perhaps  get  roasted  for  it  one  of  these  days. 
If  you  have  a  great  store  of  peas,  you  may  put  the  more  in  the 
soup ;  but  everybody  should  fare  according  to  his  earnings.  He 
is  both  a  fool  and  a  knave  who  has  a  shilling  coming  in,  and  on 
the  strength  of  it  spends  a  pound  which  does  not  belong  to  him. 
Cut  your  coat  according  to  your  cloth  is  sound  advice;  but  cutting 
other  people's  cloth  by  running  into  debt  is  as  like  thieving  as 
fourpence  is  like  a  groat.  If  I  meant  to  be  a  rogue  I  would  deal 
in  marine  stores,  or  be  a  pettifogging  lawyer,  or  a  priest,  or  open 
a  loan  ofiice,  or  go  out  picking  pockets,  but  I  would  scorn  the 
dirty  art  of  getting  into  debt  without  a  prospect  of  being  able 
to  pay. 

Debtors  can  hardly  help  being  liars,  for  they  promise  to  pay 
when  they  know  they  cannot,  and  when  they  have  made  up  a  lot 
of  false  excuses  they  promise  again,  and  so  they  lie  as  fast  as  a 

horse  can  trot. 

"You  have  debts,  and  make  debts  still, 
if  vou  "ve  not  lied,  lie  you  will." 


470  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Now  if  owing  leads  to  lying,  who  shall  say  that  it  is  not  a  most 
evil  thing?  Of  course  there  are  exceptions,  and  I  do  not  want  to 
bear  hard  upon  an  honest  man  who  is  brought  down  by  sickness 
or  heavy  losses ;  but  take  the  rule  as  a  rule,  and  you  will  find  debt 
to  be  a  great  dismal  swamp,  a  huge  mud-hole,  a  dirty  ditch. 
Happy  is  the  man  who  gets  out  of  it  after  once  tumbling  in,  but 
happiest  of  all  is  he  who  has  been  by  God's  goodness  kept  out  of 
the  mire  altogether.  If  you  once  ask  the  devil  to  dinner  it  will  be 
hard  to  get  him  out  of  the  house  again  :  better  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  him.  Where  a  hen  has  laid  one  egg,  she  is  very  likely 
to  lay  another ;  when  a  man  is  once  in  debt,  he  is  likely  to  get 
into  it  again ;  better  keep  clear  of  it  from  the  first.  He  who  gets 
in  for  a  penny  will  soon  be  in  for  a  pound,  and  when  a  man  is  over 
shoes,  he  is  very  liable  to  be  over  boots.  Never  owe  a  farthing, 
and  you  will  never  owe  a  guinea. 

If  you  want  to  sleep  soundly,  buy  a  bed  of  a  man  who  is  in 
deist;  surely  it  must  be  a  very  soft  one,  or  he  never  could  have 
rested  so  easy  on  it.  I  suppose  people  get  hardened  to  it,  as 
Smith's  donkey  did  when  its  master  broke  so  many  sticks  across 
its  back.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  real  honest  man  would  sooner  get 
as  lean  as  a  greyhound  than  feast  on  borrowed  money,  and  would 
choke  up  his  throat  with  March  dust  before  he  would  let  the  land- 
lord make  chalks  against  him  behind  the  door  for  a  beer-score. 
What  pins  and  needles  tradesmen's  bills  must  stick  in  a  fellow's 
soul !  A  pig  on  credit  always  grunts.  Without  debt,  without 
care ;  out  of  debt,  out  of  danger :  but  owing  and  borrowing  are 
bramble-bushes  full  of  thorns.  If  ever  I  borrow  a  spade  of  my 
next-door  neighbor  I  never  feel  safe  with  it  for  fear  I  should  break 
it;  I  never  can  dig  in  peace  as  I  do  with  my  own:  but  if  I  had  a 
spade  at  the  shop  and  knew  I  could  not  pay  for  it,  I  think  I  should 
set  to  dig  my  own  grave  out  of  shame.  Scripture  says,  "  Owe  no 
man  anything,"  which  does  not  mean  pay  your  debts,  but  never 
have  any  to  pay;  and  my  opinion  is,  that  those  who  wilfully  break 
this  law  ought  to  be  turned  out  of  the  Christian  Church,  neck  and 
crop,  as  we  say.  Our  laws  are  shamefully  full  of  encouragement 
to  credit ;  nobody  need  be  a  thief  now ;  he  has  only  to  open  a 
shop  and  make  a  fail  of  it,  and  it  will  pay  him  much  better;   as  the 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND    "PICTURES."  471 

proverb  is,  "  He  who  never  fails  will  never  grow  rich."  Why,  I 
know  tradesmen  who  have  failed  five  or  six  times,  and  yet  think 
they  are  on  the  road  to  heaven.  The  scoundrels,  what  would  they 
do  if  they  got  there?  They  are  a  deal  more  likely  to  go  where 
they  shall  never  come  out  till  they  have  paid  the  uttermost  far- 
thing. But  people  say,  "  How  liberal  they  are !  "  Yes,  with  other 
people's  money.  I  hate  to  see  a  man  steal  a  goose,  and  then  give 
religion  the  giblets.  Piety  by  all  means,  but  pay  your  way  as  part 
of  it.  Honesty  first,  and  then  generosity.  But  how  often  religion 
is  a  cloak  for  deceiving  !  There  's  Mrs.  Scamp  as  fine  as  a  peacock, 
all  the  girls  out  at  boarding-school,  learning  French  and  the  piano, 
the  boys  swelling  about  in  kid  gloves,  and  G.  B.  Scamp,  Esq., 
driving  a  fast-trotting  mare,  and  taking  the  chair  at  public  meet- 
ings, while  his  poor  creditors  cannot  get  more  than  enough  to  live 
from  hand  to  mouth.  It  is  shameful  and  beyond  endurance  to  see 
how  genteel  swindling  is  winked  at  by  many  in  this  country.  I  'd 
off  with  their  white  waistcoats  and  kid  gloves  and  patent-leather 
boots,  if  I  had  my  way,  and  give  them  the  county  crop  and  the 
prison  livery  for  six  months.  Gentlemen  or  not,  I  'd  let  them  see 
that  big  rogues  could  dance  on  the  treadmill  to  the  same  tune  as 
little  ones  ;  I  'd  make  the  land  too  hot  to  hold  such  scamping 
gentry  if  I  were  a  member  of  Parliament  or  a  prime  minister.  As 
I  've  no  such  power,  I  can  at  least  write  against  the  fellows,  and 
let  off  the  steam  of  my  wrath  in  that  way. 

My  motto  is:  Pay  as  you  go,  and  keep  from  small  scores. 
Short  reckonings  are  soon  cleared.  Pay  what  you  owe,  and  what 
you  're  worth  you  '11  know.  Let  the  clock  tick,  but  no  "  tick''  for 
me.  Better  go  to  bed  without  your  supper  than  get  up  in  debt. 
Sins  and  debt  are  always  more  than  we  think  them  to  be.  Little 
by  little  a  man  gets  over  his  head  and  ears.  It  is  the  petty  ex- 
penses that  empty  the  purse.  Money  is  round,  and  rolls  away 
easily.  Tom  Thriftless  buys  what  he  does  not  want  because  it  is 
a  great  bargain,  and  so  is  soon  brought  to  sell  what  he  does  want, 
and  finds  it  a  very  little  bargain  ;  he  cannot  say  "  No  "  to  his  friend 
who  wants  him  to  be  security.  He  gives  grand  dinners,  makes 
many  holidays,  keeps  a  fat  table,  lets  his  wife  dress  fine,  never 
looks  after  his  servants,  and  by  and  by  he  is  quite  surprised  to 


472  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

find  the  quarter-days  come  round  so  very  fast,  and  that  his  cred- 
itors bark  so  loud.  He  has  sowed  his  money  in  the  field  of 
thoughtlessness,  and  now  he  wonders  that  he  has  to  reap  the 
harvest  of  poverty.  Still  he  hopes  for  something  to  turn  up  to 
help  him  out  of  difficulty,  and  so  muddles  himself  into  more 
trouble,  forgetting  that  hope  and  expectations  are  fools'  income. 
Being  hard  up,  he  goes  to  market  with  empty  pockets,  and  buys 
at  whatever  prices  tradesmen  like  to  charge  him,  and  so  he  pays 
them  double,  and  gets  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mire.  This 
leads  him  to  scheming,  and  trying  little  tricks  and  mean  dodges, 
for  it  is  hard  for  an  empty  sack  to  stand  upright.  This  is  sure  not 
to  answer,  for  schemes  are  like  spiders'  webs,  which  never  catch 
anything  better  than  flies,  and  are  soon  swept  away.  As  well 
attempt  to  mend  your  shoes  with  brown  paper,  or  stop  a  broken 
window  with  a  sheet  of  ice,  as  try  to  patch  up  falling  business 
with  manoeuvring  and  scheming.  When  the  schemer  is  found  out, 
he  is  like  a  dog  in  church,  whom  everybody  kicks  at,  and  like  a 
barrel  of  powder,  which  nobody  wants  for  a  neighbor. 

They  say  poverty  is  a  sixth  sense,  and  it  had  need  be,  for  many 
debtors  seem  to  have  lost  the  other  five,  or  were  born  without 
common  sense,  for  they  appear  to  fancy  that  you  not  only  make 
debts,  but  pay  them  by  borrowing.  A  man  pays  Peter  with  what 
he  has  borrowed  of  Paul,  and  thinks  he  is  getting  out  of  his  diffi- 
culties, when  he  is  putting  one  foot  in  the  mud  to  pull  his  other' 
foot  out.  It  is  hard  to  shave  an  egg,  or  pull  hairs  out  of  a  bald 
pate ;  but  they  are  both  easier  than  paying  debts  out  of  an  empty 
pocket.  Samson  was  a  strong  man,  but  he  could  not  pay  debts 
without  money,  and  he  is  a  fool  who  thinks  he  can  do  it  by  schem- 
ing. As  to  borrowing  money  of  loan  societies,  it's  like  a  drowning 
man  catching  at  razors ;  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  when  they  lend 
money,  generally  pluck  the  geese  as  long  as  they  have  any  feath- 
ers. A  man  must  cut  down  his  outgoings  and  save  his  incomings 
if  he  wants  to  clear  himself;  you  can't  spend  your  penny  and  pay 
debts  with  it  too.  Stint  the  kitchen  if  the  purse  is  bare.  Don't 
believe  in  any  way  of  wiping  out  debts  except  by  paying  hard 
cash.  Promises  make  debts,  and  debts  make  promises,  but  prom- 
ises never  pays  debts;   promising  is  one  thing,  and  performing  is 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES."  473 

quite  another.  A  good  man's  word  should  be  as  binding  as  an 
oath,  and  he  should  never  promise  to  pay  unless  he  has  clear  pros- 
pect of  doing  so  in  due  time ;  those  who  stave  off  payment  by 
false  promises  deserve  no  mercy.     It  is  all  very  well  to  say,  "  I  'm 

very  sorry,"  but 

"  A  hundred  years  of  regret 
Pay  not  a  farthing  of  debt." 

Now  I  'm  afraid  all  this  sound  advice  might  as  well  have  been 
given  to  my  master's  cocks  and  hens  as  to  those  who  have  got 
in  the  way  of  spending  what  is  not  their  own,  for  advice  to  such 
people  goes  in  at  one  ear  and  out  at  the  other.  Well,  those  who 
won't  listen  will  have  to  feel,  and  those  who  refuse  cheap  advice 
will  have  to  buy  dear  repentance ;  but  to  young  people  beginning 
life,  a  word  may  be  worth  a  world,  and  this  shall  be  John  Plough- 
man's short  sermon,  with  three  heads  to  it,  —  always  live  a  little 
below  your  means,  never  get  into  debt,  and  remember 

"  He  who  goes  a  borrowing 
Goes  a  sorrowing." 


A  MAN   IN   A   PASSION  RIDES  A   HORSE  THAT  RUNS  AWAY 

WITH  HIM. 

When  passion  has  run  away  with  a  man,  who  knows  where  it 
will  carry  him?  Once  let  a  rider  lose  power  over  his  horse,  and 
he  may  go  over  hedge  and  ditch,  and  end  with  a  tumble  into  the 
stone-quarry  and  a  broken  neck.  No  one  can  tell  in  cold  blood 
what  he  may  do  when  he  gets  angry ;  therefore  it  is  best  to  run 
no  risks.  Those  who  feel  their  temper  rising  will  be  wise  if  they 
rise  themselves  and  walk  off  to  the  pump.  Let  them  fill  their 
mouths  with  cold  water,  hold  it  there  ten  minutes  at  the  least, 
and  then  go  indoors  and  keep  there  till  they  feel  cool  as  a  cu- 
cumber. If  you  carry  loose  gunpowder  in  your  pocket,  you  had 
better  not  go  where  sparks  are  flying ;  and  if  you  are  bothered 
with  an  irritable  nature,  you  should  move  off  when  folks   begin 


474 


LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


teasing  you.  Better  keep  out  of  a  quarrel  than  fight  your  way 
through  it. 

Nothing  is  improved  by  anger,  unless  it  be  the  arch  of  a  cat's 
back.  A  man  with  his  back  up  is  spoiling  his  figure.  People  look 
none  the  handsomer  for  being  red  in  the  face.  It  takes  a  great 
deal  out  of  a  man  to  get  into  a  towering  rage;  it  is  almost  as 
unhealthy  as  having  a  fit,  and  time  has  been  when  men  have  actu- 
ally choked  themselves  with  passion,  and  died  on  the  spot.  What- 
ever wrong  I  suffer,  it  cannot  do  me  half  so  much  hurt  as  being 
angry  about  it ;   for  passion  shortens  life  and  poisons  peace. 

When  once  we  give  way  to  temper,  temper  will  claim  a  right  of 
way,  and  come  in  easier  every  time.     He  that  will  be  in  a  pet  for 


any  little  thing,  will  soon  be  out  at  elbows  about  nothing  at  all.  A 
thunder-storm  curdles  the  milk,  and  so  does  a  passion  sour  the 
heart  and  spoil  the  character. 

He  who  is  in  a  tantrum  shuts  his  eyes  and  opens  his  mouth,  and 
very  soon  says  what  he  will  be  sorry  for.  Better  bite  your  lips 
now  than  smart  for  life.  It  is  easier  to  keep  a  bull  out  of  a  china 
shop  than  it  is  to  get  him  out  again ;  and,  besides,  there  's  no 
end  of  a  bill  to  pay  for  damages. 


"JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES."  475 

A  man  burning  witK  anger  carries  a  murderer  inside  his  waist- 
coat; the  sooner  he  can  cool  down,  the  better  for  himself  and  all 
around  him.  He  will  have  to  give  an  account  for  his  feelings,  as 
well  as  for  his  words  and  actions,  and  that  account  will  cost  him 
many  tears.  It  is  a  cruel  thing  to  tease  quick-tempered  people, 
for,  though  it  may  be  sport  to  you,  it  is  death  to  them ;  at  least, 
it  is  death  to  their  peace,  and  may  be  something  worse.  We  know 
who  said,  "  Woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh." 

Shun  a  furious  man  as  you  would  a  mad  dog ;  but  do  it  kindly, 
or  you  may  make  him  worse  than  he  would  be.  Don't  put  a  man 
out  when  you  know  he  is  out  with  himself.  When  his  monkey  is 
up  be  very  careful,  for  he  means  mischief.  A  surly  soul  is  sure  to 
quarrel ;  he  says  the  cat  vvill  break  his  heart,  and  the  coal-scuttle 
will  be  the  death  of  him. 

"  A  man  in  a  rage 
Needs  a  great  iron  cage  ; 
He  '11  tear  and  he  '11  dash 
Till  he  corae.s  to  a  smash  ; 
So  let 's  out  of  his  way 
As  quick  as  we  may." 

As  we  quietly  move  off,  let  us  pray  for  the  angry  person ;  for  a 
man  in  a  thorough  passion  is  as  sad  a  sight  as  to  see  a  neighbor's 
house  on  fire,  and  no  water  handy  to  put  out  the  flames. 

Let  us  wish  the  fellow  on  the  runaway  horse  a  soft  ditch  to 
tumble  in,  and  sense  enough  never  to  get  on  the  creature's  back 
again. 


EVERY   BIRD    LIKES   ITS   OWN   NEST. 

It  pleases  me  to  see  how  fond  the  birds  are  of  their  little  homes. 
No  doubt  each  one  thinks  his  own  nest  is  the  very  best:  and  so  it 
is  for  him,  just  as  my  home  is  the  best  palace  for  me,  even  for  me. 
King  John,  the  king  of  the  Cottage  of  Content  I  will  ask  no 
more  if  Providence  only  continues  to  give  me 

"A  little  field  well  tilled, 
A  little  house  well  filled. 
And  a  little  wife  well  willed." 


476 


LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF  C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


An  Englishman's  house  is  his  castle,  and  the  true  Briton  is 
alway  fond  of  the  old  roof-tree.  Green  grows  the  houseleek  on 
the  thatch,  and  sweet  is  the  honeysuckle  at  the  porch,  and  dear  are 
the  gillyflowers  in  the  front  garden ;   but  best  of  all  is  the  good 


wife  within,  who  keeps  all  as  neat  as  a  new  pin.     Frenchmen  may 
live  in  their  coffee-houses,  but  an  Englishman's  best  life  is  seen  at 

home. 

"  j\Iy  own  house,  though  small. 
Is  the  best  house  of  all." 

When  boys  get  tired  of  eating  tarts,  and  maids  have  done  with 
winning  hearts,  and  lawyers  cease  to  take  their  fees,  and  leaves 
leave  off  to  grow  on  trees,  then  will  John  Ploughman  cease  to  love 
his  own  dear  home.     John  likes  to  hear  some  sweet  voice  sing, 


"'Mid  pleasures  and  palaces  thougli  we  may  roam, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  's  no  place  like  home  ; 
A  charm  from  the  sky  seems  to  hallow  us  there, 
Which,  wherever  we  rove,  is  not  met  with  elsewhere. 

Home  !  Home  !    sweet,  sweet  home  ! 

There  's  no  place  like  home  !  " 


"JOHN   PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"   AND   "PICTURES,"  477 

People  who  take  no  pleasure  in  their  own  homes  are  queer  folks, 
and  no  better  than  they  should  be.  Every  dog  is  a  lion  at  his  own 
door,  and  a  man  should  make  most  of  those  who  make  most  of 
him.  Women  should  be  housekeepers,  and  keep  in  the  house. 
That  man  is  to  be  pitied  who  has  married  one  of  the  Miss  Gad- 
abouts. Mrs.  Cackle  and  her  friend  Mrs.  Dressemout  are  enough 
to  drive  their  husbands  into  the  county  jail  for  shelter;  there  can 
be  no  peace  where  such  a  piece  of  goods  as  either  of  them  is  to 
be  found.     Old  Tusser  said,  — 

"  111  husvvifery  pricketh 
Herself  up  with  pride  ; 
Good  huswifery  tricketh 
Her  house  as  a  bride. 

"  111  huswifery  moveth 

With  gossip  to  spend  ; 
Good  huswifery  loveth 
Her  household  to  tend." 

The  woman  whose  husband  wastes  his  evenings  with  low  fellows 
at  the  beershop  is  as  badly  off  as  a  slave  ;  and  when  the  Act  of  Par- 
liament shuts  up  most  of  these  ruin-houses,  it  will  be  an  Act  of 
Emancipation  for  her.  Good  husbands  cannot  have  too  much  of 
their  homes,  and  if  their  wives  make  their  homes  comfortable  they 
will  soon  grow  proud  of  them.  When  good  fathers  get  among  their 
children  they  are  as  merry  as  mice  in  malt.  Our  Joe  Scroggs  says 
he's  tired  of  his  house,  and  the  house  certainly  looks  tired  of  him, 
for  it  is  all  out  of  windows,  and  would  get  out  of  doors  if  it  knew 
how.  He  will  never  be  weary  in  well-doing,  for  he  never  began. 
What  a  different  fellow  he  would  be  if  he  could  believe  that  the 
best  side  of  the  world  is  a  man's  own  fireside.  I  know  it  is  so,  and 
so  do  many  more. 

"  Seek  home  for  rest. 
For  home  is  best." 

What  can  it  be  that  so  deludes  lots  of  people  who  ought  to 
know  better?  They  have  sweet  wives  and  nice  families  and  com- 
fortable houses,  and  they  are  several  cuts  above  us  poor  country 
bumpkins,  and  yet  they  must  be  out  of  an  evening.     What  is  it 


478  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

for?  Surely  it  can't  be  the  company;  for  the  society  of  the 
woman  you  love,  who  is  the  mother  of  your  children,  is  worth  all 
the  companies  that  ever  met  together,  I  fear  they  are  away  soak- 
ing their  clay,  and  washing  all  their  wits  away.  If  so,  it  is  a  great 
shame,  and  those  who  are  guilty  of  it  ought  to  be  trounced.  Oh, 
that  drink,  that  drink  ! 

Dear,  dear,  what  stuff  people  will  pour  into  their  insides  !  Even 
if  I  had  to  be  poisoned  I  should  like  to  know  what  I  was  swallow- 
ing. A  cup  of  tea  at  home  does  people  a  sight  more  good  than 
all  the  mixtures  you  get  abroad.  There  's  nothing  like  the  best 
home-brewed,  and  there  's  no  better  mashtub  for  making  it  in  than 
the  old-fashioned  earthenware  teapot.  Our  little  children  sing, 
"  Please,  father,  come  home,"  and  John  Ploughman  joins  with 
thousands  of  little  children  in  that  simple  prayer,  which  every  man 
who  is  a  man  should  be  glad  to  answer.  I  like  to  see  husband 
and  wife  longing  to  see  each  other. 

"  An  ear  that  waits  to  catch 
A  hand  upon  the  latch  ; 
A  step  that  hastens  its  sweet  rest  to  win. 
A  world  of  care  without, 
A  world  of  strife  shut  out, 
A  world  of  love  shut  in." 

Fellow  workmen,  try  to  let  it  be  so  with  you  and  your  wives. 
Come  home  and  bring  your  wages  with  you,  and  make  yourselves 
happy  by  making  every  one  happy  around  you. 

My  printer  jogs  my  elbow,  and  says,  "  That  will  do :  I  can't  get 
any  more  in."  Then,  Mr.  Passmore,  I  must  pass  over  many  things, 
but  I  cannot  leave  off  without  praising  God  for  His  goodness  to  me 
and  mine,  and  all  my  brother  ploughmen,  for  it  is  of  His  great 
mercy  that  He  lets  us  live  in  this  dear  old  country,  and  loads  us 
with  so  many  benefits. 

This  bit  of  poetry  shall  be  my  finish :  I  mean  every  word  of  it. 
Let  us  sing  it  together,  — 

"  What  pleasant  groves,  what  goodly  fields  ! 
What  fruitful  hills  and  vales  have  we  ! 
How  sweet  an  air  our  climate  yields  ! 
How  blest  with  fiocks  and  herds  we  be  ! 


JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S   TALK"    AND    "PICTURES."  479 

How  milk  and  honey  doth  o'erflow  ! 

How  clear  and  wholesome  are  our  springs  ! 
How  safe  from  ravenous  beasts  we  go ! 

And  oh,  how  free  from  poisonous  things  ! 

"  For  these  and  for  our  grass,  our  corn, 

For  all  that  springs  from  blade  or  bough, 
For  all  those  blessings  that  adorn 

Both  wood  and  field,  this  kingdom  through,— 
For  all  of  these  Thy  praise  we  sing  : 

And  humbly,  Lord,  entreat  Thee  too, 
That  fruit  to  Thee  we  forth  may  bring, 

As  unto  us  Thy  creatures  do." 


480  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 


JESU'S   PRESENCE    DELIGHTFUL. 

Amidst  us  our  BelovM  stands, 
And  bids  us  view  His  pierced  hands ; 
Points  to  His  wounded  feet  and  side, — 
Blest  emblems  of  the  Crucified  ! 

What  food  luxurious  loads  the  board 
When  at  His  table  sits  the  Lord  ! 
The  wine  how  rich,  the  bread  how  sweet, 
When  Jesus  deigns  the  guests  to  meet ! 

If  now,  with  eyes  defiled  and  dim, 
We  see  the  signs,  but  see  not  Him, 
Oh  may  His  love  the  scales  displace, 
And  bid  us  see  Him  face  to  face  ! 

Our  former  transports  we  recount 
When  with  Him  in  the  holy  mount ; 
These  cause  our  souls  to  thirst  anew. 
His  marred  but  lovely  face  to  view. 

Thou  glorious  Bridegroom  of  our  hearts. 
Thy  present  smile  a  heaven  imparts  ; 
Oh  lift  the  veil,  if  veil  there  be, 
Let  every  saint  Thy  beauties  see. 


C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


XXVIII. 
THE  BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER. 


"I  READ  the  newspaper,"  said  John  Newton,  "that  I  may  see  how  my 
Heavenly  Father  governs  the  world,"  —  a  very  excellent  reason  indeed.  We 
have  read  the  newspaper  during  the  last  three  months  that  we  might  find  illus- 
trations of  the  teaching  of  our  Heavenly  Father's  Word  ;  and  we  think  we  have 
not  read  in  vain,  for  we  have  gathered  instances  in  proof  and  facts  in  explana- 
tion which  we  have  jotted  down  in  these  pages.  The  worlds  of  nature  and  of 
providence  are  full  of  parallels  to  things  moral  and  spiritual,  and  serve  as  pic- 
tures to  make  the  written  book  of  inspiration  more  clear  to  the  children  of  God. 
The  Bible  itself  abounds  in  metaphors,  types,  and  symbols  ;  it  is  a  great  picture- 
book  ;  there  is  scarcely  a  poetical  figure  which  may  not  be  found  in  the  law  and 
the  prophets,  or  in  the  words  of  Jesus  and  His  apostles.  The  preacher  is  bidden 
to  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God,  and  consequently  he  should  imitate  their  illus- 
trative method,  and  abound  in  emblems  and  parables.  A  sermon  which  is  full 
of  "likes"  is  full  of  windows  to  enlighten  the  mind  and  hands  to  hold  it  cap- 
tive. Discourses  decked  with  similes  will  not  only  give  pleasure  to  the  children, 
but  persons  of  riper  years  will  be  charmed  and  instructed  thereby.  —  C.  H. 
Spurgeot^i- 


THE    BIBLE   AND   THE    NEWSPAPER. 


LADIES'   DRESS. 

"I  will  .  .  .  that  women  adorn  themselves  in  modest  apparel,  with  shamefacedness 
and  sobriety." —  i  TiM.  ii.  8,  9. 

"  Be  clothed  with  humility." —  i  Peter  v.  5. 

ON  the  nth  of  April,  in  the  course  of  an  action  brought  by 
the  well-known  modiste,  "  Madame  Rosalie,"  against  a  gentle- 
man of  property  to  compel  him  to  pay  a  debt  contracted  by  his 
wife,  it  was  stated  in  evidence  that  from  $2,500  to  $10,000  a  year 
might  be  considered  a  reasonable  sum  for  a  lady  moving  in  good 
society  to  expend  on  dress.  The  gentleman's  wife,  in  the  witness- 
box,  repudiated  with  lofty  scorn  the  idea  that  the  former  amount 
was  sufficient.  The  lady  is  an  invalid,  has  never  been  presented 
at  court,  and  is  not  called  into  company,  and  yet  was  indebted  for 
millinery  to  a  very  large  amount. 

Is  it,  then,  a  fact  that  so  large  a  sum  is  considered  needful  for 
the  clothing  of  one  human  form?  Surely  the  luxury  of  the  old 
Roman  Empire  is  infecting  our  beloved  country :  may  God  grant 
that  it  may  not,  in  our  case  also,  be  a  sign  of  the  decay  of  the 
nation.  Women  should  be  too  considerate  of  the  needs  of  the 
sick  and  suffering  to  spend  their  money  so  wastefully.  A  blanket 
placed  on  the  bed  of  a  poor  old  woman  would  be  a  better  ornament 
to  a  lady's  character  than  all  the  lace  a  dukedom  could  purchase. 
Yet  so  it  is;  but — tell  it  not  in  Gath  —  a  lady  cannot  be  dressed 
under  $io,ooo  a  year  ! 

Are  we  wrong  if  we  place  side  by  side  with  this  modern  fact  a 
description  of  the  follies  of  women  of  the  olden  times?     "More- 


484  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEOX. 

over  the  Lord  saith,  Because  the  daughters  of  Zion  are  haughty, 
and  walk  with  stretched  forth  necks  and  wanton  eyes,  walking  and 
mincing  as  they  go,  and  making  a  tinkling  with  their  feet:  there- 
fore the  Lord  will  smite  with  a  scab  the  crown  of  the  head  of  the 
daughters  of  Zion,  and  the  Lord  will  discover  their  secret  parts. 
In  that  day  the  Lord  will  take  away  the  bravery  of  their  tinkling 
ornaments  about  their  feet,  and  their  cauls,  and  their  round  tires 
like  the  moon,  the  chains,  and  the  bracelets,  and  the  mufflers, 
the  bonnets,  and  the  ornaments  of  the  legs,  and  the  headbands, 
and  the  tablets,  and  the  earrings,  the  rings,  and  nose  jewels,  the 
changeable  suits  of  apparel,  and  the  mantles,  and  the  wimples,  and 
the  crisping-pins,  the  glasses,  and  the  fine  linen,  and  the  hoods 
and  the  vails."  —  Isaiah  iii.  16-23. 

What  a  contrast  is  the  teaching  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  in  his  first 
epistle,  at  the  third  chapter.  "  Whose  adorning  let  it  not  be  that 
outward  adorning  of  plaiting  the  hair,  and  of  wearing  of  gold,  or 
of  putting  on  of  apparel ;  but  let  it  be  the  hidden  man  of  the 
heart,  in  that  which  is  not  corruptible,  even  the  ornament  of  a 
meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which  is  in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price. 
For  after  this  manner  in  the  old  time  the  holy  women  also,  who 
trusted  in  God,  adorned  themselves,  being  in  subjection  unto  their 
own  husbands."  Peter  sends  the  ladies  to  a  wardrobe  better  than 
any  which  the  frivolous  possess,  and  to  a  jewel-case  richer  than 
ever  belonged  to  the  vain  and  showy  ;  but,  alas,  the  mass  of 
women  do  not  care  to  adorn  themselves  in  this  right  royal  fashion  ! 
Pride  of  dress  is  so  childish  that  one  wonders  to  see  it  in  grown-up 
people.  The  old  proverb  speaks  of  being  twice  children ;  but 
fops  and  dandies  of  either  sex  are  always  children.  Archbishop 
Leighton  has  well  said :  "  It  is  strange  upon  how  poor  things  men 
and  women  will  be  vain,  and  think  themselves  somebody  ;  not 
only  upon  some  comeliness  in  their  face  or  feature,  which,  though 
poor,  is  yet  a  part  of  themselves,  but  of  things  merely  without 
them ;  that  they  are  well  lodged,  or  well  mounted,  or  well  ap- 
parelled, either  richly  or  well  in  fashion.  Light,  empty  minds  are 
like  bladders,  blown  up  with  anything." 

The  only  excuse  we  can  think  of  for  some  dressy  women  is  that 
they  think  themselves  very  ugly.     What  deformity  must  exist  if  it 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  485 

needs  ten  thousand  a  year  to  cover  it!  If  these  persons  accurately 
gauge  their  lack  of  personal  charms,  they  must  be  suffering  under 
a  fearful  measure  of  uncomeliness.  Why,  ten  or  twenty  families 
could  be  reared  in  comparative  comfort  upon  the  amount  thus 
expended  in  wastefulness ;  and  as  matters  go  with  the  agricultural 
laborers  in  many  of  the  shires,  forty  of  the  families  owned  by 
Hodge  and  his  companions,  including  all  the  father  Hodges  and 
their  wives,  could  be  decently  provided  for  upon  ten  thousand  a 
year.  It  will  not  bear  thinking  of.  Yet  many  women  professing 
godliness  are  shockingly  extravagant,  and  can  never  be  happy  till 
their  heads  are  tricked  out  with  strange  gear  and  their  bodies  with 
fashionable  millinery.  They  little  think  how  much  they  degrade 
themselves  and  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God.  A  forgiven  sinner  decked 
out  in  the  flaunting  garments  of  a  worldling,  casts  suspicion  upon 
her  own  pardon ;  if  she  had  ever  been  renewed  in  heart,  would 
she,  could  she,  adorn  herself  after  the  manner  of  a  Jezebel?  It  is 
hard  to  think  of  a  disciple  of  the  Lord  wasting  her  substance  upon 
personal  decoration.  Does  the  lowly  Jesus  keep  company  with 
persons  who  spend  hours  at  the  glass,  adorning,  if  not  adoring, 
their  own  flesh?  Can  extravagance  and  fashionableness  be  pleas- 
ing to  the  Lord?     No.     Assuredly  not. 

We  are  not  judging  that  "  neat  handsomeness  "  which  George 
Herbert  says  "  doth  bear  the  sway,"  but  we  are  sorrowful  when  we 
see  those  who  set  themselves  up  as  examples,  and  move  in  a  posi- 
tion where  no  outward  show  is  required,  going  beyond  ordinary 
worldly  women  in  extravagance.  It  is  the  bane  of  society  and  the 
disgrace  of  religion. 

We  wonder  how  much  of  the  extravagance  of  female  dress  could 
be  traced  to  the  man-millinery  of  Anglican  priests.  Church  con- 
gresses have  been  edified  by  exhibitions  of  ecclesiastical  finery,  in 
which  were  seen  robes  and  vestments  of  the  costliest  material  and 
the  gaudiest  colors.  We  have  read  of  altar  frontals  which  have 
taken  years  to  finish,  and  are  valued  at  more  than  $2,500.  All 
this  to  deck  out  a  table  !  No  wonder  that  it  costs  so  much  to  dress 
a  woman.  When  men,  and  even  ministers,  take  to  resplendent 
trappings,  who  can  wonder  that  the  weaker  sex  exercise  a  larger 
liberty?  For  shame,  ye  so-called  priests,  put  away  your  baby 
garments,  and  quit  yourselves  like  men ! 


486  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


THE   RACE   AND   ITS   SPECTATORS. 

"  Wherefore  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run 
with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us."  —  Heb.  xii.  i. 

In  an  article  upon  the  University  boat-race  of  April  13,  the 
"  Times  "  alludes  to  the  dense  throng  upon  the  banks  of  the  river, 
and  to  the  interest  which  everybody  seemed  to  feel  in  the  struggle, 
and  it  then  very  truthfully  adds :  — 

"  Nor  do  the  competitors  themselves  fail  to  gain  much  from  the 
sight  of  the  vast  crowds  which  attest  the  strength  of  the  popular 
interest  The  rivalry  would  hardly  be  so  keen  if  the  race  were  to 
be  rowed  amid  the  comparative  privacy  of  a  provincial  stream  or 
lake.  Some  years  ago  this  was  kept  out  of  sight  in  a  high  and 
mighty  way,  by  the  suggestion  that,  to  prevent  the  contest  from 
being  vulgarized,  or  for  some  other  reason,  it  ought  to  be  held  at 
some  quieter  place  than  the  neighborhood  of  London.  Loch 
Maree,  in  the  wilds  of  Ross-shire,  would  afford  charming  tranquil- 
lity and  a  few  scores  of  cool  spectators.  But  the  stimulus  of  a 
great  public  competition  would  be  gone,  and,  if  we  may  venture  to 
assume  that  undergraduates  are  made  of  the  same  stuff  as  other 
human  beings,  that  stimulus  is  essential  to  such  muscular  exertion 
as  we  see  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge." 

This  excellently  illustrates  the  meaning  of  the  apostle  when  he 
represents  believers  as  running  for  a  prize,  with  saints,  apostles, 
and  martyrs  looking  on.  The  stimulus  communicated  by  specta- 
tors is  his  prominent  idea.  No  doubt  the  young  oarsmen  find  a 
stimulus  in  every  eye  that  gazes  upon  them,  and  if  the  crowd  were 
thinned  they  would  take  less  interest  in  their  task.  The  crowds 
which  line  the  Thames  may  well  be  compared  to  clouds,  so  com- 
pletely do  they  darken  the  banks  from  end  to  end  of  the  course; 
and  much  more  may  those  who  gaze  upon  the  Christian's  life  be 
thus  spoken  of.  Myriads  lean  from  heaven,  or  look  from  earth, 
or  peer  upward  from  the  pit.     Holy  men  of  all  ages,  now  with 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  487 

God,  join  with  a  great  host  still  abiding  here  below.  Angels  and 
principalities  and  powers  unite  as  one  vast  army  and  observe  us 
intently;  and  frowning  demons  of  the  pit  in  their  dread  array  all 
gaze  with  interest  upon  the  Christian's  work  and  way.  Should 
not  every  glance  animate  us  to  do  our  utmost? 

And  what  eyes  there  are  among  those  who  observe  us !  Had 
the  Queen  been  present,  we  could  imagine  the  young  athletes 
straining  themselves  even  more  than  they  had  done,  for  the  glance 
of  royalty  quickens  energy  to  the  utmost.  In  our  case,  the  King 
of  kings  looks  down  upon  us,  and  the  Prince  of  Life  with  tender 
sympathy  watches  our  progress.  What  manner  of  race  should 
ours  be  under  the  Lord's  own  eye  !  Competitors  of  former  years 
were  at  the  boat-race  to  see  whether  the  new-comers  would  main- 
tain the  honor  of  their  University.  Even  so  the  worthies  of  an- 
cient times,  who  counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  them,  take 
pleasure  in  the  efforts  of  those  who  to-day  are  wrestling  for  vic- 
tory, as  they  themselves  did  in  ages  past.  The  approving  glances 
of  prophets  and  apostles  may  well  stir  our  souls.  Dear  ones  who 
have  gone  before  also  mark  our  behavior  in  the  race.  A  mother 
in  heaven  takes  delight  in  the  ardor  of  her  son ;  brothers  "  gone 
over  to  the  majority  "  are  serenely  glad  as  they  see  their  brothers 
pushing  forward  in  the  noble  cause.  Our  leaders  in  the  faith, 
oarsmen  who  taught  us  how  to  fly  over  the  waves,  regard  us  with 
anxious  interest,  and  joy  in  our  successes.  These  things  should 
quicken  us,  and  lend  us  arguments  for  unabated  energy. 

Of  course  the  apostle  was  not  alluding  to  a  boat-race,  but  to 
the  Olympian  games.  Those  games  furnish  a  suggestive  figure, 
which  we  leave  the  reader  to  work  out  at  leisure  when  we  have 
given  him  a  glimpse  at  the  race  from  the  window  of  good  Dr. 
John  Brown. 

"  At  Olympia,  a  town  of  Elis,  games  were  celebrated  in  honor 
of  Jupiter  once  every  five  years.  An  almost  incredible  multitude 
from  all  the  states  of  Greece  and  from  the  surrounding  countries 
attended  these  games  as  spectators.  The  noblest  of  the  Grecian 
youths  appeared  as  competitors.  In  this  race,  a  course  was 
marked  out  for  the  candidates  for  public  fame,  and  a  tribunal 
erected  at  the  end  of  the  course,  on  which  sat  the  judges,  —  men 


488  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

who  had  themselves  in  former  years  been  successful  competitors 
for  Olympic  honors.  The  victors  in  the  morning  contests  did  not 
receive  their  prizes  till  the  evening ;  but  after  their  exertions  they 
joined  the  band  of  spectators,  and  looked  on  while  others  pro- 
secuted the  same  arduous  labors  which  they  had  brought  to  an 
honorable  termination." 

It  is  a  fine  thought  that  those  honorable  men  in  the  Church  of 
God  who  have  themselves  behaved  worthily,  take  the  deepest 
interest  in  the  young  men  who  have  newly  set  out  upon  the  race. 
Let  the  youngsters  so  behave  themselves  that  the  veterans  may 
never  fear  for  the  cause  of  God.  We  know  that  a  great  deal  of 
anxiety  is  felt  just  now,  for  the  rising  race  shows  signs  of  being 
unstable  and  superficial ;  but  we  hope  for  better  things,  and  even 
trust  that  the  men  of  the  coming  age  will  outstrip  their  predeces- 
sors, and  draw  forth  the  approving  shouts  of  the  encompassing 
cloud  of  witnesses. 


A  FOX   IN  THE   PULPIT. 

"  Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes,  that  spoil  the  vines."  —  Cant.  ii.  15. 
"  O  Israel,  thy  prophets  are  like  the  fo.xes  in  the  deserts." —  Ezek.  xiii.  4. 

A  SHORT  letter  which  appeared  in  "  The  Rock,"  April  18,  is 
well  worth  preserving  in  connection  with  the  above  texts.  It  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  writer  might  have  pointed  to  not  a  few  Noncon- 
formist pulpits,  and  might  have  made  the  same  remark  concerning 
their  occupants,  "  Duty  requires  that  they  should  be  taken  out 
and  kept  out." 

"A  Fox  IN  THE  Pulpit.  — Sir:  A  singular  circumstance  took 
place  at  Hever,  in  Kent,  on  Saturday  last.  A  fox,  hard  pressed 
by  the  huntsmen,  leaped  the  churchyard  wall  and  disappeared. 
The  hounds  and  huntsmen  were  searching  and  wondering,  when 
an  old  woman  came  out  from  a  back  door  of  the  church,  which 
happened  to  be  open,  with  the  exclamation,  *  Here  he  is,  in  the 
pulpit;'  and,  sure  enough,  poor  Reynard  had  slipped  in  at  the 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  489 

open  door  and  sought  sanctuary,  curled  up  in  a  corner  of  the 
pulpit.  Of  course  he  was  soon  ejected.  To  my  friend,  who  had 
witnessed  the  scene  and  described  it  very  vividly,  I  observed  that 
it  reminded  one  of  certain  sly  foxes  in  the  Church  of  England, 
who  get  into  our  pulpits  and  think  they  are  safe  there.  Duty 
requires  that  they  should  be  taken  out  and  kept  out.  —  I  am,  etc., 
W.  J.  B." 

This  is  written  by  a  Church-of-England  man,  and  published  in  a 
sound  Church  paper,  and  so  it  is  no  violation  of  charity  to  repeat 
it,  especially  as  we  quite  agree  with  every  word  of  it.  We  wish 
that  all  the  Popish  foxes  could  be  ejected  from  the  national 
Establishments,  for  they  do  more  mischief  than  tongue  can  tell. 

"  The  fox  that  steals  the  lamb  so  tender, 
Can  never  be  the  fold's  defender, 
He  's  but  a  base  and  sly  pretender." 

The  difficulty  seems  to  be  to  get  these  foxes  out  and  keep  them 
out.  Once  in  the  pulpit,  they  know  how  to  hold  their  position ; 
you  may  dig  out  a  fox,  but  you  cannot  dislodge  a  Romanizing 
priest.  Acts  of  Parliament  altogether  fail,  because  such  things 
are  meant  for  men,  and  foxes  dexterously  evade  them.  Reynard's 
imitators  have  many  knavish  tricks,  and  know  how  to  twist  and 
turn,  and  so  they  escape  statutes  and  laws,  and  still  pursue  their 
evil  business.  In  the  reforming  times  a  popular  caricature  repre- 
sented a  priest  as  a  fox  preaching  to  an  assembly  of  geese  from 
the  text,  "  How  earnestly  I  long  for  you  all  in  my  bowels."  The 
drawing  would  not  be  out  of  date  if  it  were  published  to-day. 
How  silly  must  the  geese  be  who  yield  themselves  heart  and  soul 
to  such  foxes !     Yet  there  are  flocks  of  them. 


490  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


THE   EVIL  WROUGHT   BY   ONE   MAN. 

"  One  sinner  destroyeth  much  good."  —  Eccles.  ix.  i8. 

"  That  man  perished  not  alone  in  his  iniquity."  —  Josh.  xxii.  20. 

An  American  paper  contains  the  following  paragraph :  "  An  oil- 
train  of  forty  oil-tanks  ran  into  a  heavy  freight-train  near  Slating- 
ton,  Pennsylvania.  The  engineer  of  the  latter  train  had  been  com- 
pelled to  stop  to  cool  off  a  hot  '  journal,'  but  the  conductor  had 
sent  no  one  back  to  warn  following  trains  of  danger.  Several  per- 
sons were  killed  and  about  forty  injured,  —  the  result  of  one  man's 
carelessness."  Amid  the  blaze  of  the  oil,  the  screams  of  burning 
men  and  women,  and  the  charred  remains  of  the  unhappy  victims, 
we  see  how  great  a  calamity  may  arise  out  of  a  little  neglect,  and 
how  much  the  destiny  of  others  may  hang  upon  the  acts  of  one 
man.  Have  we  a  due  sense  of  our  own  personal  responsibility? 
Have  we  ever  reflected  that  our  own  conduct  may  influence  others 
for  good  or  evil  throughout  eternity?  We  may  have  no  wicked 
intent,  and  yet  our  carelessness  and  indifference  may  be  as  fatal  to 
immortal  souls  as  if  we  had  been  profane  or  profligate.  Moral 
virtues,  apart  from  religion,  may  suggest  to  our  children  that  god- 
liness is  needless ;  was  not  their  father  an  excellent  man,  and  yet 
he  was  unconverted?  Thus  may  generation  after  generation  be 
kept  in  spiritual  death  by  an  argument  fetched  from  the  irreligion 
of  one  who  was  in  other  respects  a  model  character.  Who  among 
us  would  desire  this? 

Even  if  we  hope  that  we  are  ourselves  saved,  it  should  cause  us 
grave  question  if  we  are  not  bringing  others  to  Jesus. 

A  destroyer  of  souls  will  have  an  awful  doom  at  the  last,  and  he 
who  failed  to  do  his  best  to  save  his  fellows  will  not  be  held  guilt- 
less before  the  Lord. 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  491 


CONSCIENTIOUS   SEPARATION. 

"  A  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God,  and  toward  men."  —  Acts  xxiv.  16. 

"  If  tlie  Lord  be  God,  follow  Him:  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  —  i  Kings  xviii.  21. 

The  "  Daily  News  "  of  May  8,  in  an  article  on  Lord  Carnarvon's 
resignation,  says :  "  Mr.  Carlyle,  wearied  with  much  eighteenth- 
century  talk  about  virtue,  somewhere  requests  the  talker,  with  a 
strong  adjuration,  to  '  be  virtuous,  and  have  done  with  it.'  Too 
much  praise  of  what  is  after  all  but  the  carrying  into  statesman- 
ship of  the  laudable  but  not  marvellous  practice  of  common  hon- 
esty might  lead  the  hearer  to  express  a  similarly  petulant  prayer. 
It  is  not  at  all  desirable  that  a  politician  should  be  perpetually 
interrogating  his  conscience  to  see  what  its  opinion  may  be  as  to 
this  tax  on  tobacco  and  that  alteration  in  the  bankruptcy  laws. 
Such  a  practice  could  only  lead  to  very  considerable  public  in- 
convenience, and  in  the  case  of  the  individual  practising  it,  to 
something  not  very  different  from  hypocrisy.  But  occasions  may 
and  do  arise  when  a  policy  or  an  individual  measure  commends 
itself  to  the  majority  of  a  ministry  which  seems  morally  wrong 
or  politically  unadvisable  to  some  member  thereof.  When  this 
is  the  case,  ought  he  to  put  his  convictions  in  his  pocket,  and 
salve  his  conscience  with  the  theory  of  party  allegiance,  or  ought 
he  to  go  out  from  those  respecting  whom  he  feels  that  he  is  not 
of  them?  No  one  will  in  words  profess  the  former  doctrine,  but 
many  will  act  upon  it.  Lord  Carnarvon  has  acted  upon  the  latter 
doctrine,  which  everybody  professes,  but  many  set  aside  in  prac- 
tice. Of  course  it  is  important  that  the  conscience  appealed  to 
should  be  a  healthy  conscience,  not  given  to  unnecessary  ques- 
tioning and  quibbling." 

Not  only  do  we  admire  the  consistency  of  Lord  Carnarvon,  but 
we  wish  we  saw  a  little  more  of  it  among  professing  Christians. 
We  know  some  ministers  who  do  not  believe  the  doctrines  of  the 
church  to  which  they  belong,  and  yet  for  reasons  best  known  to 


492  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

themselves  they  remain  in  that  community,  and  undermine  the 
very  foundations  of  the  faith  which  they  profess  to  preach.  How 
this  can  be  made  to  be  in  accordance  with  morahty  we  know  not. 
Surely  it  would  be  more  Hke  common  honesty  if  they  would  at 
once  show  their  colors,  and  -no  longer  pretend  to  be  what  they  are 
not.  Some  Christians,  too,  who  never  enter  a  pulpit,  are  equally 
guilty,  for  they  are  recognized  as  members  of  churches  against 
whose  teaching  they  frequently  protest.  They  support  evil  systems 
and  know  them  to  be  evil.  They  dissent  in  their  hearts,  but  yet 
consent  by  their  actions ;  for  fear  of  giving  offence  to  men,  they 
are  constantly  offending  God  and  their  own  consciences.  What- 
ever their  excuses  may  be,  are  they  not  resolvable  into  doing  evil 
that  good  may  come?  Of  course  it  is  not  to  be  desired  that  men 
should  be  perpetually  vexed  with  scruples  upon  minor  points,  and 
ready  to.  quarrel  about  anything  or  nothing,  because  their  con- 
science is  morbidly  sensitive ;  but  surely  it  cannot  be  right  for  a 
truthful  man  to  be  a  member  of  a  church  from  whose  confession 
he  widely  disagrees;  his  position  is  a  protest  against  his  own  con- 
victions, and  his  convictions  make  his  profession  a  falsehood.  We 
ought  to  be  intensely  anxious  to  be  so  clear  in  the  whole  of  our 
religious  standing  that  under  the  light  of  the  Day  of  Judgment  no 
glaring  contradictions  shall  be  discovered  in  our  lives ;  otherwise, 
we  may  not  only  be  guilty  of  "  something  not  very  different  from 
hypocrisy,"  but  we  may  fall  into  hypocrisy  itself.  A  little  tam- 
pering with  conscience  is  a  very  dangerous  thing;  it  is  very  like 
the  dropping  of  a  stitch,  which  may  lead  to  the  unravelling  of  all 
the  work.     We  used  to  say  in  our  childhood, — 

"  He  who  steals  a  pin 
Will  live  to  steal  a  bigger  thing." 

The  rhyme  was  bad,  but  the  doctrine  was  true.  If  we  violate  con- 
science, even  upon  the  smallest  matter,  we  may  come  at  last  to 
have  no  conscience  at  all. 

Mr.  Carlyle's  advice  is  thoroughly  sound,  and  his  adjuration  is 
none  too  strong :  "  Be  virtuous,  and  have  done  with  it ;  "  speak  the 
truth  and  stand  to  it ;  profess  the  faith  which  is  revealed  in  the 
Scriptures,   and   neither  by  word   of  mouth  nor  by  act,   nor  by 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  493 

association,  nor  even  in  thought,  contradict  the  eternal  verities  of 
God.  We  have  had  too  much  of  concession  in  order  to  win  a 
hollow  peace  from  philosophic  Rationalists  on  the  one  hand,  and 
superstitious  Romanizers  on  the  other.  The  thing  will  not  work, 
and  if  it  would  it  is  wrong,  and  ought  not  to  be  attempted.  Who 
gave  us  the  right  to  yield  an  atom  of  truth?  Are  the  doctrines  of 
God's  Word  yours  or  mine  to  do  as  we  like  with,  to  give  up  this 
and  modify  that?  Nay,  verily ;  we  are  put  in  trust  with  the  Gospel, 
and  it  is  at  our  peril  that  we  dream  of  compromising  the  least  of 
its  teachings.  A  straightforward,  decided  line  of  testimony  is  the 
best,  is  most  consistent  with  true  charity,  and  in  the  end  will  most 
promote  peace. 

The  trimming,  hesitating  policy  of  many  reminds  us  of  Luther's 
words  to  Erasmus :  "  You  desire  to  walk  upon  eggs  without  crush- 
ing them,  and  among  glasses  without  breaking  them !  "  This  is 
a  difficult  game  to  play  at,  and  one  which  is  more  suitable  for  a 
clown  at  a  theatre  than  a  servant  of  Christ.  When  you  are  at- 
tempting a  compromise,  you  have  to  look  around  you  and  move 
as  cautiously  as  a  tight-rope  dancer,  for  fear  of  offending  on  one 
side  or  the  other.  A  little  too  much  this  way  or  that,  and  over  you 
go.  A  cat  on  hot  cinders  is  not  in  an  enviable  position.  No  true- 
hearted  man  will  ever  bear  such  wretched  constraint  for  any  length 
of  time,  or  indeed  at  all.  Think  of  being  able  to  go  no  further 
than  the  aforementioned  timorous,  time-serving  Erasmus,  who  said, 
"  I  will  not  be  unfaithful  to  the  cause  of  Christ;  at  least,  so  far  as 
the  age  will  permit  me."  Out  upon  such  cowardice  !  life  is  too  dear 
when  bought  at  such  a  price. 

"  I  cannot  tell  what  you  and  other  men 

Think  of  this  Hfe  ;  but  for  my  single  self, 
I  had  as  lief  not  be,  as  live  to  be 
In  awe  of  such  a  thing  as  I  myself." 


494  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 


TEMPTING   TEMPTATION. 

"  Blessed  is  the  man  that  walketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly,  nor  standeth  in 
the  way  of  sinners,  nor  sitteth  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful."  —  Ps.  i.  i. 
"  Lead  us  not  into  temptation."  —  Matt.  vi.  13. 

The  "  Rock  "  of  May  lo  speaks  of  fox-hunting  parsons,  and 
remarks:  "To  come  down  to  modern  times,  the  late  Rev.  Joseph 
Berington,  Roman  CathoHc  chaplain  at  Buckland,  Berks,  and  a 
writer  on  history,  was  fond  of  a  run  with  the  hounds.  When  visit- 
ing his  patron's  family,  the  Throckmortons  of  Weston  Underwood, 
Bucks,  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  two  packs,  and  did  not 
neglect  the  opportunity.  He  did  not  actually  go  '  to  cover,'  but 
rode  out  in  the  direction  the  hounds  might  take,  and  thus  fell  in 
with  the  hunt,  and  got  half  a  day's  sport  without  appearing  to 
seek  it.  This  was  playing  the  politician  to  gratify  his  inclination. 
This  anecdote  was  learned  at  a  table  where  he  has  often  dined, 
from  personal  friends  of  his  own." 

Why  could  n't  the  man  have  hunted  openly  or  not  at  all?  If  he 
felt  ashamed  of  it,  why  did  he  do  it?  Thoroughbred  fox-hunters 
must  have  despised  him.  The  policy  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  great  many  in  daily  life.  They  complain  of  being 
tempted,  and  yet  they  carefully  put  themselves  in  the  way  of 
temptation ;  they  profess  to  have  been  grievously  misled  by  evil 
company,  and  yet  they  continue  to  stand  in  the  way  of  sinners, 
and  to  delight  themselves  with  their  evil  conversation.  They 
express  the  greatest  grief  if  they  fall  into  drunkenness,  and  say 
that  they  have  been  "  overtaken  "  ;  but  notwithstanding  this  they 
carefully  ride  along  the  road  which  drunkenness  is  known  to 
pursue,  and,  under  the  name  of  moderation,  drink  themselves  fully 
up  to  the  boundary  line.  They  do  not  actually  go  "  to  cover," 
but  they  ride  out  in  the  direction  which  the  hounds  always  take. 
They  profess  to  be  averse  to  frivolous  amusements,  to  feasting, 
rioting,  and  the  like,  but  they  are  pretty  careful  to  call  upon  their 
friends  when  such  things  are  going  on,   and  so   get   half  a  day's 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  495 

sport  without  appearing  to  seek  it.  They  are  averse  to  infidehty, 
and  yet  peruse  sceptical  reviews ;  they  dislike  licentiousness,  and 
yet  spend  hours  over  doubtful  novels.  They  tempt  the  devil  to 
tempt  them,  and  go  into  dark  lanes  in  order  to  be  beset  by  their 
favorite  sins. 

Thus  to  excuse  sin  as  many  do  is  mere  nonsense,  or  worse ; 
such  fooling  may  amuse  conscience,  and  prevent  its  plainly  speak- 
ing the  truth,  but  it  is  altogether  unworthy  of  an  honest  man. 
Excuses  which  hold  no  water  are  caught  up  under  the  notion  that 
a  bad  excuse  is  better  than  none :  the  fact  being  that  a  bad  excuse 
is  worse  than  none ;  for  it  proves  that  the  man  has  not  the  courage 
to  defend  what  he  has  the  audacity  to  do,  nor  the  common 
honesty  to  take  the  responsibility  of  his  own  act  and  deed.  Let 
us  follow  the  advice  of  Solomon :  "  Enter  not  into  the  path  of  the 
wicked,  and  go  not  in  the  way  of  evil  men.  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by 
it,  turn  from  it,  and  pass  away."  We  pity  a  man  who  catches  an 
infectious  disease,  but  we  should  cease  to  do  so  if  we  heard  that 
he  purposely  went  down  to  the  fever  hospital,  or  wilfully  rode  in 
the  small-pox  carriage.  If  you  go  to  live  with  a  sweep,  you  ought 
not  to  blame  him  if  your  linen  loses  its  whiteness,  or,  if  you  do  so, 
every  one  will  see  through  your  inconsistency.  If  it  be  true  that 
when  you  go  to  Rome  you  must  do  as  Rome  does,  then  do  not  go 
to  Rome  at  all,  and  no  such  necessity  will  arise. 

It  is  wonderful  how  circumstances  appear  to  help  a  man  when 
he  wants  to  do  wrong,  and  some  there  are  who  even  dare  to  quote 
the  fact  as  a  reason  why  they  ought  not  to  be  blamed.  "They 
happened  to  be  on  the  spot,  or  they  would  never  have  thought  of 
it:"  thus  they  are  profane  enough  to  hint  that  Providence  itself 
misled  them.  This  is  only  a  repetition  of  Adam's  plea,  "  The 
woman  whom  thou  gavest  me,  she  tempted  me,  and  I  did  eat." 
Alas !  the  vile  attempt  to  father  sin  upon  the  Lord  Himself  is  often 
made,  but  it  is  none  the  less  horrible.  Let  us  abandon  such  blas- 
phemous endeavors  to  shift  the  responsibility  of  our  actions,  and 
give  our  consciences  a  fair  chance  of  being  heard. 


496  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF  C.   H.    SPURGEON. 


REVIEW   AT   ALDERSHOT. 

"  Thou  hast  given  a  banner  to  them  that  fear  Thee,  that  it  may  be  displayed  because 
cf  the  truth." — Ps.  Ix.  4. 

"  Terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  —  Cant.  vi.  4. 

The  "Daily  News"  of  May  14,  in  its  report  of  the  review  at 
Aldershot  before  the  Queen,  mentions  "  The  Forty-ninth,  whose 
color-party  bore  the  tattered  green  flag  that  floated  on  the  heights 
of  Alma  and  over  the  trenches  in  front  of  Sebastopol,  and  served 
as  a  rallying-point  amid  the  mists  of  Inkermann ;  and  the  gallant 
Fifty-second,  whose  history  has  been  untarnished  from  the  first 
campaign  in  Hindostan,  through  all  the  Peninsular  wars,  beginning 
at  Vimiera  and  ending  at  Waterloo,  down  to  the  conquest  of 
Delhi." 

Soldiers  appear  to  have  an  almost  religious  attachment  to  the 
colors  of  the  regiment,  and  the  more  tattered  they  become  the 
more  they  value  them.  And  well  they  may,  for  they  are  in  fact 
the  materialized  history  of  the  host.  They  tell  of  the  cruel  rain 
of  shot  and  shell,  the  dust  and  smoke  of  the  conflict  and  the 
battle,  "  with  confused  noise,  and  garments  rolled  in  blood,"  — 
terrible  records  truly,  but  as  long  as  there  are  warriors,  and  cour- 
age in  fight  is  valued,  banners  and  standards  must  always  be 
prized. 

The  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect  bears  the  standard  of  the 
truth,  and  has  borne  it  these  thousands  of  years,  and  the  truth  has 
become  endeared  to  every  soldier  of  the  cross  by  all  the  conflicts 
through  which  we  have  borne  it.  Heresies  and  scepticisms  have 
raged  around  the  banner,  but  from  the  first  campaign  even 
until  now  it  has  gone  on  from  victory  to  victory.  The  very 
thought  of  it  stirs  enthusiasm  in  the  hearts  of  the  warriors  of 
Christ.  Shall  we  ever  desert  it?  Shall  we  suffer  it  to  be  trailed 
in  the  mire?  God  forbid  !  We  will  uplift  it,  and  display  it  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy,  until  the  last  great  battle  shall  be  fought,  and 
we  shall  hear  the  triumphant  shout,  "  Hallelujah  !  hallelujah  !  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth." 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  497 

It  has  of  late  been  proposed  that  the  army  of  Christ  should 
march  without  its  banner,  or  that  all  the  banners  of  philosophic 
sceptics  should  be  stitched  together  and  uplifted  in  its  place.  To 
this  we  solemnly  demur.  We  will  march  under  the  old  ensign ; 
of  the  new  ones  we  know  nothing,  except  that  they  will  lead  us  to 
defeat.  Faith  has  won  all  her  victories  under  the  standard  of 
revelation,  and  she  expects  to  win  all  her  future  glory  under  the 
same  unaltered  and  unalterable  flag.  Let  others  do  as  they  will ; 
as  for  us,  the  old,  old  gospel  shall  be  our  rallying-point  amid  the 
mists  of  modern  thought,  and  we  hope  to  bear  it  from  land  to  land 
throughout  the  whole  campaign  of  this  dispensation,  till  we  shall 
see  it  borne  aloft  at  the  coronation  festival  of  our  triumphant 
Lord. 

"  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus, 

Ye  soldiers  of  the  cross  ; 
Lift  high  His  royal  banner, 

It  must  not  suffer  loss. 

"  From  victory  to  victory 
His  army  shall  He  lead, 
Till  every  foe  is  vanquished. 
And  Christ  is  Lord  indeed." 


RELIGIOUS   SLUGGARDS. 

"Their  nobles  put  not  their  necks  to  the  work  of  their  Lord."—  Neh.  iii.  5. 
"  Slothfulness  casteth  into  a  deep  sleep." —  Prov.  xix.  15. 
"  Let  us  not  sleep,  as  do  others." —  i  Thess.  v.  6. 

An  American  paper  has  the  following  in  its  corner  of  wit  and 
anecdote:  "A  Sunday-school  boy  at  Maysville.  Kentucky,  was 
asked  by  the  superintendent  the  other  day  if  his  father  was  a 
Christian.  'Yes,  sir,'  he  replied,  'but  he  is  not  working  at  it 
much.' " 

In  too  many  cases  the  same  statement  might  be  made,  for  mul- 
titudes have  a  name  to  live  and  are  dead,  and  the  love  of  many 
has  waxed  cold.  Religion  is  a  profession  with  them,  but  it  is  not 
accompanied  by  practice.  Now,  of  all  pursuits  in  the  world,  the 
Christian    profession  requires  the    most  energetic    action,   and    it 

32 


498  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

utterly  fails  where  diligence  and  zeal  are  absent.  What  can  a  man 
do  as  a  farmer,  a  merchant,  a  carpenter,  or  even  as  a  beggar, 
unless  he  follows  up  his  calling  with  activity  and  perseverance? 
A  sluggard  desireth  and  hath  nothing,  whatever  his  trade  may  be. 
What,  then,  can  he  hope  to  win  who  calls  himself  a  Christian,  and 
neither  learns  of  Christ  as  his  Teacher,  nor  follows  Him  as  his 
Master,  nor  serves  Him  as  his  Prince?  Salvation  is  not  by  works, 
but  it  is  salvation  from  idleness.  We  are  not  saved  because  we  are 
earnest;  but  he  who  is  not  earnest  has  great  reason  to  question 
whether  he  is  saved. 

Do  you  know  a  Christian  who  never  attends  week-day  services, 
and  only  comes  to  public  worship  once  on  the  Sunday?  "He  is 
not  working  at  it  much."  Do  you  know  a  professor  who  is  not 
engaged  in  the  Sabbath-school,  the  Visiting  Society,  the  Tract 
Association,  or  in  any  other  form  of  usefulness?  "He  is  not 
working  at  it  much."  Do  you  know  a  man  who  gives  little  or 
nothing  to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  neglects  family  prayer,  never 
says  a  word  for  Jesus,  and  never  intercedes  for  perishing  souls? 
"  He  is  not  working  at  it  much."  Perhaps  he  is  the  best  judge  of 
his  religion,  and  does  not  think  it  worth  being  diligent  about.  We 
heard  of  one  wfio  said  his  religion  did  not  cost  him  a  shilling  a 
year,  and  a  friend  observed  that  he  thought  it  was  more  than  it 
was  worth ;  and  in  the  present  case  we  may  conclude  that  a  man's 
religion  is  a  very  poor  affair  when  "  he  does  not  work  at  it 
much." 

Our  Lord  does  not  set  before  us  the  Christian  life  as  a  dainty 
repose,  but  as  a  warfare  and  a  struggle.  He  bids  us  "  strive  to 
enter  in  at  the  strait  gate,"  and  never  suggests  to  us  that  we  can, 
enter  into  His  rest  if  we  are  not  willing  to  bear  His  yoke.  Faith 
saves  us,  but  it  is  the  faith  which  worketh  by  love;  all  our  salva- 
tion is  wrought  in  us  by  the  Lord  both  as  to  willing  and  doing, 
but  yet  we  are  to  work  it  out  with  fear  and  trembling ;  which  also 
by  His  grace  we  will  henceforth  do. 

"  Sure  I  must  fight  if  I  would  reign : 
Increase  my  courage,  Lord  ! 
I  '11  bear  the  toil,  endure  the  pain, 
Supported  by  Thy  Word." 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  499 


THE   WITHERING   OF   UNBELIEF. 

"Let  them  all  be  confounded  and  turned  back  that  hate  Zion.  Let  them  be  as  the 
grass  upon  the  housetops,  which  withereth  afore  it  groweth  up :  wherewith  the  mower 
filieth  not  his  hand,  nor  he  that  bindeth  sheaves  his  bosom." — Ps.  cxxix.  5,  6,  7, 

"  Notwithstanding  the  humidity  of  the  season,  the  grass  crop 
on  Wandsworth  Bridge  will  not  be  submitted  to  tender  this  year." 
This  witty  paragraph,  taken  from  the  "  South  London  Press,"  an 
interesting  local  paper,  of  May  25,  refers  to  a  bridge  upon  which 
there  is  little  traffic.  Of  course  the  grass  will  not  be  mown,  for  it 
has  no  depth  of  earth  to  grow  upon,  and  is  of  no  value. 

The  text  which  we  have  quoted  here  finds  an  illustration.  It  is 
true,  a  bridge  is  not  a  house-top,  but  in  scantiness  of  soil  it  is  much 
the  same.  The  opponents  of  the  Gospel  are  very  numerous,  but 
they  never  come  to  anything;  they  are  always  confounded  before 
they  can  well  establish  their  theories.  Various  orders  of  infidels 
have  sprung  up  suddenly,  and  have  almost  as  suddenly  disap- 
peared, and  even  Ihc  :e  which  have  endured  for  a  longer  season 
have  ultimately  pas..cd  away,  leaving  scarcely  any  memorial  behind 
them.  Unbelief  is  an  unhealthy  and  unsatisfactory  plant ;  there  is 
nothing  in  it;  it  yields  neither  seed  for  the  sower  nor  bread  for 
the  eater ;  it  is  not  even  good  enough  to  fodder  the  cattle  with ; 
the  very  lowest  of  mankind  find  it  unsatisfactory  meat.  Rational- 
ists should  never  be  too  confident  of  their  favorite  scheme,  for  it  is 
only  one  of  a  long  series  of  short-lived  weeds,  and  will  be  sure  to 
wither  before  long,  and  to  be  denounced  by  some  other  order  of 
advanced  thinkers.  Infidelity,  like  Canaan  of  old  under  the  Hivites 
and  the  Jebusites,  is  a  land  which  eateth  up  the  inhabitants  thereof 
Scepticism  derives  most  of  its  life  from  opposition  ;  it  has  no 
natural  stamina,  and  is  rather  a  negative  than  a  real  existence. 
Little  cause  can  there  be  for  the  citizens  of  Zion  to  be  afraid  of 
such  adversaries  ;  instead  of  dismay  we  may  even  breathe  defiance. 
"  The  virgin  daughter  of  Zion  hath  despised  thee  and  laughed  thee 
to  scorn ;    the  daughter  of  Jerusalem  hath  shaken  her  head  at 


500  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

thee."  It  were  well  if  this  sacred  confidence  were  more  common 
among  us ;  for  it  is  to  be  deplored  that,  as  each  crop  of  the  house- 
top grass  of  unbelief  springs  up,  much  unjustifiable  alarm  is  mani- 
fested, and  this  does  most  of  the  mischief.  There  is  really  no 
cause  to  fear  things  so  essentially  feeble  and  self-destructive  as 
systems  of  unbelief  The  wooden  guns  of  the  Chinese  are  not 
more  ridiculous  than  the  philosophies  of  infidels. 

"Ashamed  they  fly,  they  start  aloof, 
Each  foe  of  Zion  flies,  — 
They  are  as  grass  upon  the  roof, 
That  ere  the  uprooting  dies  ; 

"  Where  no  glad  store  may  reaper  find 
To  fill  his  gathering  hand, 
Nor  high  their  bosom  heap  who  bind 
The  sheaves  in  wreathM  band  ; 

"  Where  never  traveller  as  he  passed 
Did  prayer  or  greeting  frame. 
Or  say  '  God's  blessing  o'er  thee  last, 
We  bless  you  in  God's  name.'  " 


MOORE'S   REMONSTRANCE. 

"  Should  such  a  man  as  I  flee  ?  "  —  Neh.  vi.  ii. 

"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  —  Matt.  x.  22. 

On  Tuesday,  May  28,  Earl  Russell  died.  In  biographical 
notices  given  by  most  of  the  papers  allusion  is  made  to  the  pro- 
position of  Lord  John  Russell  to  retire  from  public  life  while  yet  a 
young  man,  in  consequence  of  some  serious  discouragement  which 
he  had  received.  It  is  stated  that  he  was  deterred  from  so  doing 
by  the  expostulations  of  Thomas  Moore,  and  quotations  are  made 
from  the  "  Remonstrance  "  which  that  sparkling  poet  addressed  to 
him.  On  reading  the  poem  it  struck  us  at  once  that  many  of  the 
remarks  would  apply  in  other  and  higher  senses  to  any  Christian 
who  should  be  tempted  to  withdraw  himself  from  the  service  of 
his  Lord.  The  first  three  verses  of  the  poem  we  will  quote  at 
length :  — ■ 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE  NEWSPAPER.  5OI 

"  What  thou,  with  thy  genius,  thy  youth,  and  thy  name  — 
Thou,  born  of  a  Russell  —  whose  instinct  to  run 
The  accustomed  career  of  thy  sires,  is  the  same 
As  the  eaglet's  to  soar  with  his  eyes  on  the  sun,  — 

"Whose  nobility  comes  to  thee  stamped  with  a  seal 
Far,  far  more  ennobling  than  monarch  e'er  set, 
With  the  blood  of  thy  race  offered  up  for  the  weal 
Of  a  nation  that  swears  by  that  martyrdom  yet,  — 

"  Shalt  thou  be  faint-hearted  and  turn  from  the  strife, 
From  the  mighty  arena  where  all  that  is  grand, 
And  devoted,  and" pure,  and  adorning  in  life, 

'T  is  for  high-thoughted  spirits  like  thine  to  command  ?  " 

Born  from  above  and  bearing  the  name  of  Christian,  shall  the 
child  of  God  cease  to  battle  for  that  which  is  good?  Conscious  of 
a  sacred  instinct  which  impels  him  onward  and  upward,  shall  he 
sit  down  in  despair  or  retire  into  inglorious  ease?  Serving  a  Lord 
who  spared  not  His  heart's  blood  for  man's  redemption,  and  follow- 
ing in  the  track  of  thousands  of  martyrs  who  counted  not  their 
lives  dear  unto  them,  shall  we  selfishly  shun  self-denial  and  avoid 
reproach?  No;  by  God's  grace  let  us  never  dream  of  timorous 
silence,  nor  think  for  an  instant  that  our  light  can  be  spared 
from  the  darkening  horizon  of  our  times.  We  may  have  neither 
eloquence  nor  genius,  but  such  as  we  have  we  will  consecrate  to 
the  last  moment  of  our  lives  to  Him  who  hath  bought  us  by 
His  precious  blood.  We  may  address  to  every  timorous  heart 
the  closing  verse  of  Tom  Moore,  altered  to  suit  the  case:  — 

"  Thus  ransomed,  thou  never  canst  sleep  in  the  shade ; 
If  the  stirrings  of  impulse,  the  terror  of  fame. 
And  the  charms  of  thy  cause  have  not  power  to  persuade, 
Yet  think  how  to  Jesus  thou  'rt  pledged  by  thy  name." 

He  who  wears  the  name  of  Christian  is  sworn  to  sustain  the 
cause  of  God  and  truth  with  the  last  drop  that  warms  his  veins. 


502  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


A   PATH   STREWN   WITH   BLESSINGS. 

"I  will  save  you,  and  ye  shall  be  a  blessing."  —  Zech.  viii.  13. 

"When  the  ear  heard  me,  then  it  blessed  me;  and  when  the  eye  saw  me,  it  gave 
witness  to  me  :  Because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the  fatherless,  and  him 
that  had  none  to  help  him."  —  Job  xxix.  11,  12. 

The  "  Sussex  Daily  News,"  of  June  6,  has  the  following  quo- 
tation and  remark :  "  '  The  path  of  a  Pope  must  be  strewn  with 
blessings.'  Such  is  the  neat  and  appropriate  sentiment  attributed 
to  Leo  XIII." 

So  far  as  the  history  of  a  Pope  has  come  under  our  own  ob- 
servation it  has  rather  been  strewn  with  curses  than  with  blessings. 
Pio  Nono  at  any  rate  appeared  to  be  exceedingly  voluble  when 
delivering  a  tirade,  and  could  fulminate  an  anathema  as  neatly  and 
appropriately  as  any  other  dealer  in  strong  language.  Happily 
we  have  reason  to  believe  that  his  denunciations  were  not  much 
more  effectual  than  his  benedictions.  If  either  the  one  or  the 
other  had  any  effect  at  all  it  would  appear  to  have  operated  by  the 
rule  of  contrary :  for  those  whom  he  cursed  most  prospered  best, 
and  those  whom  he  blessed  had  cause  to  cry  "  save  us  from  our 
friend."  We  believe  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  his  fulminations  were 
so  barren  of  all  results,  that  we  may  apply  to  them  the  lines  of 
"  Ingoldsby  Legends,"  which  describe  the  cardinal  in  his  great  red 
hat  when  he  had  lost  his  costly  turquoise  ring :  — 

"The  cardinal  rose  with  a  dignified  look, 
He  called  for  his  candle,  his  bell,  and  his  book  ; 
In  holy  ang^r  and  pious  grief 
He  solemnly  cursed  the  rascally  thief! 
He  cursed  him  at  board,  he  cursed  him  in  bed  ; 
From  the  sole  of  his  foot  to  the  crown  of  his  head; 
He  cursed  him  in  sleeping,  that  every  night 
He  should  dream  of  the  devil  and  wake  in  a  fright ; 
He  cursed  him  in  eating,  he  cursed  him  in  drinking; 
He  cursed  him  in  coughing,  in  sneezing,  in  winking; 
He  cursed  him  in  sitting,  in  standing,  in  lying ; 
He  cursed  him  in  walking,  in  riding,  in  flying; 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  503 

He  cursed  him  in  living,  lie  cursed  him  in  dying ! 
Never  was  heard  such  a  terrible  curse  ! 

But  what  gave  rise 

To  no  little  surprise, 
Nobody  seemed  one  penny  the  worse  !  " 

True,  there  was  a  certain  thievish  jackdaw  which  began  to  pine 
and  lose  its  feathers,  but  we  do  not  beheve  that  Pio  Nono  ever 
managed  to  injure  even  a  sparrow  or  a  spider  with  his  bulls  and 
excommunications. 

Let  us  hope  that  Leo  XIH.  intends  to  abound  in  benisons ;  but 
even  if  he  does  so,  we  suspect  that  nobody  will  seem  one  penny 
the  better. 

However,  it  will  be  all  the  better  for  Leo  himself  if  he  will  learn 
to  lie  down  with  the  lamb. 

If  from  the  quotation  we  take  out  the  word  "  Pope,"  and  write 
"  Christian,"  the  sentiment  will  be  more  neat  and  appropriate  than 
ever:  "The  path  of  a  Christian  must  be  strewn  with  blessings." 
God  has  blessed  him  unspeakably  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  he  should 
therefore  bless  God  with  all  his  heart  and  soul.  The  promise  is, 
"  I  will  bless  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing,"  and  every  child 
of  believing  Abraham  should  endeavor  to  be  a  blessing  to  all  those 
that  are  round  about  him,  according  to  that  ancient  covenant 
promise.  Like  David,  the  believer  should  bless  his  household ; 
nay  more,  like  the  high  priest  of  old  he  should  bless  all  the  people. 
His  words  should  impart  the  blessing  of  instruction,  and  his  life 
should  confer  the  blessing  of  holy  example.  His  private  prayers 
should  bring  down  innumerable  blessings  from  heaven,  and  his 
public  acts,  abounding  with  pity  and  love,  should  bless  the  poor 
and  needy  of  earth.  The  sick,  the  afflicted,  and  the  desponding 
should  hail  his  presence,  and  find  in  him  a  tender  friend.  He 
should  go  about  doing  good.  As  there  is  a  promise  that  his  path, 
like  the  shining  light,  shall  increase  in  splendor,  so  also  should  he 
increase  in  the  warmth  and  light  of  love  and  kindness,  bearing  life 
and  joy  and  healing  to  the  sons  of  men.  May  the  blessed  God 
reveal  Himself  in  His  blessed  people,  that  in  them  and  in  their  seed 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  may  be  blessed ! 


S04  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


PEARLS. 

"  No  mention  shall  be  made  of  coral  or  of  pearls :  for  the  price  of  wisdom  is  above 
rubies."  —  Job  xxviii.  i8. 

"  Who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  went  and  sold  all  that  he  had, 
and  bought  it."  —  Matt.  xiii.  46. 

The  Paris  correspondent  of  the  "Daily  News,"  of  June  11, 
writes :  "  The  French  have  grown  so  clever  at  imitating  pearls  that 
a  jeweller  in  this  Exhibition  shows  a  necklace  which  purports  to 
be  a  mixture  of  true  pearls  and  false,  and  he  challenges  his  cus- 
tomers to  single  out  the  real  ones  if  they  can.  Nobody  had  yet 
succeeded,  when  I  myself  made  an  ineffectual  attempt." 

The  art  of  pearl-making  is  by  no  means  a  new  discovery ;  by 
various  methods  imitation  pearls  have  been  manufactured  in  divers 
countries  for  many  years.  The  French  have,  however,  proved 
themselves  superior  to  all  competitors.  Specimens  of  their  artifi- 
cial productions  exhibited  at  the  Exposition  of  1867  could  neither 
in  their  lustre  nor  color  be  distinguished  from  oriental  pearls,  even 
when  the  genuine  and  the  sham  were  laid  side  by  side.  We  are 
told  that  there  is  only  one  way  by  which  they  can  be  detected, 
and  that  is  by  their  specific  weight;  they  are  much  lighter  than 
the  real  pearls. 

There  is  "  one  Pearl  of  great  price,"  about  whose  genuineness 
there  can  never  be  a  question ;  but  all  the  goodly  pearls  which  this 
world  can  yield  need  to  be  weighed  before  we  may  conclude  them 
to  be  of  any  great  value,  —  indeed,  the  choicest  pearls  of  earth  are 
insignificant  in  price  compared  with  Him  who  is  more  precious 
than  rubies,  and  of  whom  it  is  written,  that  "  all  the  things  thou 
canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  unto  Him."  Even  real  pearls, 
the  best  of  them,  fit  to  adorn  an  emperor's  crown,  and  to  heighten 
the  beauty  of  the  fairest  of  maidens,  have  been  known  to  sicken 
and  die  and  vanish  in  a  day.  Every  now  and  then  we  hear  of 
magnificent  ancestral  pearls,  the  pride  of  noble  families,  turning 
of  a  sickly  color  and   crumbling  into  dust.      Not  long  ago  the 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  505 

crown-jeweller  of  France  solemnly  applied  to  the  Academy  of 
Science  for  the  means  of  preventing  the  decay  and  corruption 
of  the  precious  gems  in  the  royal  crown.  No  satisfactory  answer 
was  given,  and  many  highly-prized  jewels  have  since  then  passed 
away.     "  Behold,  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit." 

In  a  work  entitled  "The  Wonders  of  the  Deep,"  M.  Scheie  de 
Vere  tells  us  the  following  story,  of  which  we  leave  our  readers  to 
draw  the  moral  for  themselves :  "  A  dusky  fisherman  in  the  far-off 
seas  of  India  once  found  a  pearl  in  an  oyster.  He  had  heard  of 
such  costly  gems,  and  sold  it  to  an  Arab  for  a  gold  coin  which 
maintained  him  for  a  whole  year  in  luxury  and  idleness.  The 
Arab  exchanged  it  for  powder  and  shot  furnished  him  by  a  Russian 
merchant  on  board  a  trading  vessel,  who  even  yet  did  not  recog- 
nize the  dirty,  dust-covered  little  ball  as  a  precious  jewel.  He 
brought  it  home  as  a  present  for  his  children  on  the  banks  of  the 
Neva,  where  a  brother  merchant  saw  it  and  bought  it  for  a  trifle. 
The  pearl  had  at  last  found  one  who  could  appreciate  its  priceless 
value.  The  great  man  —  for  it  was  a  merchant  of  the  first  class, 
the  owner  of  a  great  fortune  —  rejoiced  at  the  silent  fraud  by 
which  he  had  obtained  the  one  pearl  of  great  price,  without  selling 
all  and  buying  it  fairly,  and  cherished  it  as  the  pride  of  his  heart. 
Visitors  came  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  see  the  wonder.  He 
received  them  in  his  merchant's  costume  in  a  palace  plain  without 
but  resplendent  inside  with  all  that  human  art  can  do  to  embellish 
a  dwelling,  and  led  them  silently  through  room  after  room,  filled 
with  rare  collections  and  dazzling  by  the  splendor  of  their  orna- 
ments. At  last  he  opened  with  his  own  key  the  carved  folding- 
doors  of  an  inner  room,  which  surprised  the  visitor  by  its  apparent 
simplicity.  The  floor,  to  be  sure,  was  inlaid  with  malachite  and 
costly  marble,  the  ceiling  carved  in  rare  woods,  and  the  walls  hung 
with  silk  tapestry;  but  there  was  no  furniture,  no  gilding,  nothing 
but  a  round  table  of  dark  Egyptian  marble  in  the  centre.  Under 
it  stood  a  strong  box  of  apparently  wonderful  ingenuity,  for  even 
the  cautious  owner  had  to  go  through  various  readings  of  alpha- 
bets, and  to  unlock  one  door  after  another,  before  he  reached 
an  inner  cavity,  in  which  a  plain  square  box  of  Russia  leather 
was  standing  alone.      With  an  air  akin  to  reverence,  the  happy 


506  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    IL    SPURGEON. 

merchant  would  take  the  box  and  press  it  for  a  moment  to  his 
bosom,  then,  devoutly  crossing  himself  and  murmuring  an  invoca- 
tion to  some  saint,  he  would  draw  a  tiny  gold  key,  which  he  wore 
next  his  person,  from  his  bosom,  unlock  the  casket,  and  hold  up 
his  precious  pet  to  the  light  that  fell  from  a  large  grated  window 
above. 

"  It  was  a  glorious  sight  for  the  lover  of  such  things :  a  pearl 
as  large  as  a  small  egg,  of  unsurpassed  beauty  and  marvellous 
lustre.  The  sphere  was  perfect,  the  play  of  colors,  as  he  would 
let  it  reluctantly  roll  from  his  hands  over  his  long  white  fingers 
down  on  the  dark  table,  was  only  equalled  by  the  flaming  opal, 
and  yet  there  was  a  soft,  subdued  light  about  the  lifeless  thing 
which  endowed  it  with  an  almost  irresistible  charm.  It  was  not 
only  the  pleasure  its  perfect  form  and  matchless  beauty  gave  to 
the  eye,  nor  the  overwhelming  thought  of  the  fact  that  the  little 
ball  was  worth  anything  an  emperor  or  a  millionnaire  might  choose 
to  give  for  it,  —  there  was  a  magic  in  its  playful,  ever-changing 
sheen  as  it  rolled  to  and  fro, —  a  contagion  in  the  rapt  fervor  with 
which  the  grim  old  merchant  watched  its  every  flash  and  flare, 
which  left  few  hearts  cold  as  they  saw  the  marvel  of  St.  Peters- 
burg. For  such  it  was,  and  the  emperor  himself,  who  loved  pearls 
dearly,  had  in  vain  offered  rank  and  titles  and  honors  for  the 
priceless  gem. 

"  A  few  years  afterwards  a  conspiracy  was  discovered,  and  sev- 
eral great  men  were  arrested.  Among  the  suspected  was  the 
merchant.  Taking  his  one  great  treasure  with  him,  he  fled  to 
Paris.  Jewellers  and  amateurs,  Frenchmen  and  foreigners,  flocked 
around  him,  for  the  fame  of  his  jewel  had  long  since  reached 
France.  He  refused  to  show  it  for  a  time.  At  last  he  appointed  a 
day  when  his  great  rival  in  pearls,  the  famous  Dutch  banker,  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  and  other  men  well  known  for  their  love  of 
precious  stones  and  pearls,  were  to  behold  the  wonder.  He  drew 
forth  the  golden  key,  he  opened  the  casket;  but  his  face  turned 
deadly  pale,  his  eyes  started  from  their  sockets,  his  whole  frame 
began  to  tremble,  and  his  palsied  hand  let  the  casket  drop.  The 
pearl  was  discolored  !  A  sickly  blue  color  had  spread  over  it,  and 
dimmed  its  matchless  lustre.     His  gem  was  diseased.     In  a  short 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  507 

time  it  turned  into  a  white  powder,  and  the  rich  merchant  of  St. 
Petersburg,  the  owner  of  the  finest  pearl  known  to  the  world,  was 
a  pauper.  The  pearl  had  avenged  the  poor  Indian  of  the  East, 
the  Arab,  and  the  poor  traveller,  and  administered  silent  justice  to 
the  purchaser  who  paid  not  its  price." 


THE   FICKLENESS   OF   MANKIND. 

"  Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel."  —  Gen.  xlix.  4. 

"  Surely  men  of  low  degree  are  vanity,  and  men  of  high  degree  are  a  lie."  —  Ps. 
Ixviii.  9.  ^ 

The  "Times,"  June  10,  has  the  following  from  its  correspon- 
dent at  St.  Petersburg  on  public  opinion  in  Russia:  "A  well- 
known  Russian  journalist,  who  has  had  abundant  opportunities  of 
observing  and  studying  the  consecutive  changes  of  public  opinion 
among  the  educated  classes  of  his  countrymen  during  the  last 
two  years,  has  just  published  the  following  results  of  his  obser- 
vations :  — 

"'July,  1876. — Wild  enthusiasm.  Complete  enchantment  with 
the  Servians.     Desire  for  war. 

"'October,  1876.  —  Despondency.  Disenchantment  with  re- 
gard to  the  Servians ;  hostility  toward  them,  and  regret  for  what 
has  been  done  for  them. 

"'November,  1876.  —  Enthusiasm  for  a  war  in  the  interest  of 
the  Bulgarians ;   pity  for  and  sympathy  with  them. 

"'April,  1877.  —  Complete  ecstasy.  Brotherly  love  for  the 
Bulgarians.     Dissatisfaction  with  the  Servians. 

"  '  August  and  September,  1877.  —  Despondency  in  consequence 
of  failures  (before  Plevna  and  elsewhere).  Silent  irritation  against 
the  Bulgarians.  Readiness  to  abandon  the  whole  thing  if  only  a 
way  could  be  found  out  of  it. 

"  '  December,  1877. — Intoxication  from  success.  Desire  to  carry 
the  thing  out  to  the  end.     Bad  feeling  toward  the  Bulgarians. 

"  '  February,  1878.  — Wild  delight  at  the  peace  and  the  yielding 
disposition  of  Turkey.     Sympathy  with  Turkey  and  corresponding 


508  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

coolness  toward  the  Bulgarians.  Passionate  determination  to  in- 
sist on  the  acquisition  of  Batoum.  Consciousness  of  the  necessity 
of  this  acquisition.  Indifference  to  the  question  of  England  and 
Austria. 

"  '  May,  1878.  —  Complete  disenchantment  on  the  score  of  the 
Bulgarians.  Suspicions  of  insincerity  on  the  part  of  the  Turks. 
Talk  about  Batoum  not  being  so  necessary  for  us  as  it  had  for- 
merly seemed.  Something  like  disgust  with  the  Eastern  Question. 
Talk  about  getting  the  thing  finished  anyhow.' 

"  This  curious  laconic  register,  though  far  from  complete,  is 
pretty  correct  so  far  as  it  goes." 

We  insert  this  as  a  curious  instance  of  the  fickleness  of  the 
popular  mind.  He  who  lives  to  win  the  approbation  of  the  pub- 
lic, even  should  he  gain  it,  should  set  but  small  store  by  it,  for  it 
is  as  changeful  as  the  wind,  and  altogether  as  unsubstantial. 
The  multitude  one  day  cried  concerning  our  Saviour,  "  Hosanna, 
hosanna !  "  and  ere  the  week  was  ended,  they  as  lustily  shouted, 
"Crucify  Him,  crucify  Him  !  "  The  apostles  at  Lystra  found  them- 
selves at  one  moment  in  danger  of  being  worshipped  as  gods;  but 
the  mistake  did  not  last  long,  for  the  people  stoned  them  before 
the  sun  had  set.  The  many- headed  cry  first  this  thing,  and  then 
another:  "unstable  as  water,"  they  rush  to  extremes.  The  war 
upon  which  they  enter  with  enthusiasm  will  either  close  with 
curses  at  the  bloodshed  it  has  entailed,  or  else  it  will  end  with 
illuminations  intended  to  welcome  the  return  of  peace  which  they 
broke  with  so  light  a  heart. 

Let  those  who  pride  themselves  upon  the  applause  of  the 
multitude  see  the  worthlcssness  of  the  mere  vapor  for  which  they 
spend  themselves.  Blessed  is  he  whose  life  is  ruled  by  the  will  of 
God,  and  whose  highest  ambition  is  acceptance  with  the  Most 
High  through  Jesus  Christ  His  Son.  His  is  an  immortal  and 
immutable  inheritance,  a  crown  of  life  which  fadeth  not  away. 
Is  the  reader  living  wholly  unto  God?  Then  he  shall  not  know 
the  disappointment  of  those  who  put  their  trust  in  the  sons  of 
men,  in  whom  is  no  strength.  But  hunters  after  popularity  and 
aspirants  for  fame  will  do  well  to  consider  whether  the  mirage  is 
worth  their  notice,  or  the  will-o'-the-wisp  worthy  of  their  pursuit. 


THE  BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  509 


BLAME  THE   SCALE-MAKER. 

"  The  woman  said,  The  serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat." — Gen.  iii.  13. 
"  Every  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden."  —  Gal.  vi.  5. 

The  "  South  London  Press,"  June  22,  reports  the  following, 
among  a  number  of  other  cases  of  unjust  weights  and  measures: 
"  A,  B.,  cheesemonger.  One  machine.  Defendant  said  he  paid  a 
scale-maker  \os.  6d.  to  atte7td  to  it,  and  the  neglect  was  his.  The 
chairman  said  one  of  the  first  things  defendant  should  have 
attended  to  was  the  correctness  of  his  scales  and  weights.  Fined 
£\.  Defendant  thought  the  scale-maker  ought  to  pay  the  fine. 
The  clerk :  '  We  look  to  you ;  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
scale-maker.'  " 

National  law  is  based  upon  the  principle  of  personal  responsi- 
bility, and  it  will  not  allow  a  transgressor  to  escape  by  pleading 
that  he  has  shifted  the  burden  of  duty  upon  another.  If  in  any 
cases  responsibility  could  be  transferred,  it  surely  should  be  under 
the  circumstances  before  us;  but  the  law  knows  nothing  of  scale- 
makers,  it  deals  with  traders  ;  and  if  anything  be  wrong  with  scales 
or  weights  it  does  not  hold  the  shopkeeper  guiltless,  but  visits  the 
wrong  upon  him,  even  though  he  may  have  employed  a  person  to 
keep  his  weights  in  order.  This  course  appears  to  be  severe,  but 
it  is  both  just  and  necessary ;  there  would  be  no  security  for  the 
purchaser,  nor  indeed  for  government  itself,  if  the  essential  prin- 
ciple of  personal  responsibility  could  be  departed  from.  Every 
man  mnst  bear  his  own  burden. 

Yet  this  truth  is  too  often  put  into  the  background.  In  religion 
men  have  often  acted  as  if  they  had  altogether  forgotten  that  it 
must  of  necessity  be  strictly  personal.  We  hear  of  sponsors 
promising  and  vowing  no  end  of  things,  and  of  priests  performing 
service  and  doing  the  devotions  of  others.  Proxies,  however,  in 
such  matters  are  a  sheer  delusion ;  all  true  religion  is  a  personal 
thing;    men  sin  personally,  and  they  must  personally  repent  of 


510  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

that  sin,  or  personally  bear  the  guilt  of  it.  No  man  can  receive 
the  new  birth  on  behalf  of  another,  nor  can  another  man's  faith 
excuse  us  from  believing  in  Jesus.  Sanctification  is  not  a  boon 
to  be  vicariously  received,  any  more  than  heaven  can  be  vica- 
riously enjoyed.  A  man  may  fancy  that  he  pays  a  priest  or  a 
minister  to  do  his  religion  for  him,  just  as  the  tradesman  paid  the 
scale-maker;  but  the  law  does  not  recognize  the  transaction,  it 
deals  with  principals  only.  We  cannot  leave  our  heavenly  busi- 
ness in  the  hands  of  a  clergyman  as  we  place  our  secular  affairs  in 
the  hands  of  a  lawyer;  we  must  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  on  our 
own  account,  or  judgment  will  go  against  us.  It  is  true  that  in 
the  matter  of  our  justification  before  God  we  have  been  redeemed 
by  the  blood  of  our  Substitute,  and  are  accepted  in  His  imputed 
righteousness;  but  in  the  practical  application  of  the  blessings 
thus  procured  everything  must  be  direct  and  personal.  Another 
may  procure  us  food,  but  he  cannot  eat  or  digest  it  for  us :  Jesus 
has  become  our  bread  from  heaven,  but  we  must  individually 
partake  of  Him  if  we  would  live  for  ever.  Another  may  bring  us 
a  candle,  but  we  cannot  see  the  light  except  with  our  own  vision, 
—  nay  more,  even  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  makes  no  man  to  see 
except  by  his  own  eyes. 

Never,  then,  let  us  leave  our  doctrinal  views  to  be  settled  for  us 
by  the  Church,  but  let  us  search  the  Scriptures  for  ourselves;  let 
us  not  derive  our  peace  and  confidence  from  the  good  opinion  ot 
our  pastor  and  the  deacons,  but  aim  at  attaining  a  full  assurance 
of  our  calling  and  election  by  the  seal  of  the  Spirit  upon  our  own 
hearts ;  neither  let  us  leave  the  work  of  the  Lord  to  be  discharged 
by  others,  but  honestly  render  our  fair  share  of  the  service.  We 
must  ask  for  grace  to  see  to  our  own  scales,  and  cease  to  leave  to 
the  scale-maker  a  matter  which  is  altogether  our  own  concern. 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  51I 


DESERTERS. 

"  Will  ye  also  go  away?" — John  vi.  67. 

"Demas  hath  forsaken  me,  having  loved  this  present  world." — 2  Tim.  iv.   10. 

The  "  Daily  News "  of  June  22,  in  an  article  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  men  in  the  British  army,  says :  "  One  great  cause  of 
misconduct  is  that  few  men  enlist  deliberately,  but  rather  take  the 
shilling  as  a  means  of  escaping  temporary  trouble  of  some  sort. 
Either  a  man  is  temporarily  out  of  work,  or  he  has  a  quarrel 
with  his  sweetheart,  or  he  wishes  for  a  while  to  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  the  police.  Comparatively  rarely  does  he  become  a  sol- 
dier from  a  conviction  that  it  is  an  honorable  mode  of  earning  a 
living,  and  that  there  are  some  extremely  good  prizes  to  be  won. 
Hence  speedy  repentance,  and  if  he  is  unable  to  purchase  his 
discharge  he  will  frequently  in  desperation  steal,  so  openly  that  he 
must  be  discovered,  some,  to  him,  useless  article,  such  as  a  broom 
or  one  boot." 

It  seems,  then,  that  very  much  depends  upon  the  manner  of  the 
enlistment  of  soldiers,  and  we  are  quite  sure  that  with  young  con- 
ver*s  everything  depends  upon  the  reason  for  their  enrolment  in 
the  army  of  Christ.  If  they  merely  come  to  Christ  because  they 
are  under  some  temporary  alarm  of  soul,  and  not  because  they  are 
heartily  convinced  of  the  error  of  their  ways,  they  will  probably 
desert  from  the  standard  of  the  cross  as  soon  as  the  temporary 
pressure  of  natural  conviction  is  removed.  The  awakening  ser- 
mon is  forgotten,  the  alarming  providence  is  over,  the  eloquent 
revivalist  has  gone  to  another  town,  and  the  superficial  converts 
regret  that  they  ever  made  a  profession  of  religion,  and  under  one 
pretext  or  another  they  slide  away.  How  well  it  is  that  our  young 
friends  should  count  the  cost  and  understand  what  they  are  doing, 
and  then  should  deliberately  and  heartily  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 
people  of  God.  They  must  be  convinced  that  to  be  a  Christian  is 
right  and  honorable,  and  for  their  own  eternal  good  ;  they  must  also 
be  assured  that  the  cause  is  one  of  truth  and  righteousness,  and 


512  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

that  in  it  lies  all  their  hope  of  eternal  salvation,  —  they  must,  in  a 
word,  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  minds,  or  they  will  soon  be 
the  prey  of  temptation,  and  the  Church  will  be  filled  with  alarm  at 
the  large  number  of  deserters. 

Our  Lord  was  always  anxious  that  men  should  be  saved,  but 
He  was  never  in  a  hurry  to  gather  nominal  disciples.  When  the 
scribe  said  to  Him,  "  Master,  I  will  follow  Thee  whithersoever 
Thou  goest,"  He  did  not  reply,  as  many  of  us  would  have  done, 
with  a  pressing  invitation  and  an  enthusiastic  welcome ;  but  He 
was  far  more  wise  in  His  procedure,  for  He  replied,  "  The  foxes 
have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests ;  but  I,  the  Son  of 
man,  have  not  where  to  lay  My  head."  He  put  before  him  the 
poverty  of  the  Captain  and  the  hard  fare  of  the  soldier.  When 
the  multitude  thronged  around  Him,  He  did  not  commence  taking 
their  names,  enrolling  them  as  His  converts,  and  counting  heads 
in  order  to  publish  astounding  statistics,  but,  on  the  contrary.  He 
sifted  them  with  words  like  these:  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
ye  seek  Me,  not  because  ye  saw  the  miracles,  but  because  ye  did 
eat  of  the  loaves,  and  were  filled."  The  recruiting-sergeants  of 
her  Majesty's  army  are  so  anxious  to  get  hold  of  the  men  that 
they  are  not  scrupulous  as  to  the  arguments  they  use.  Drink  is 
freely  given,  the  soldier's  condition  is  set  fortli  in  rosy  colors,  and 
the  young  man  is  cajoled  and  seduced  into  a  way  of  life  which  he 
would  not  have  thoughtfully  chosen ;  but  it  must  not  be  so  among 
us.  We  may  not  repel  any  man  who  wishes  to  join  our  ranks,  but 
we  may  not  persuade  men  and  women  to  make  a  hasty  profession, 
and  take  the  name  of  Christian  upon  them  to  please  their  friends. 
The  door  must  not  be  closed  with  lock  and  key,  but  there  must  be 
a  porter  to  open  it,  in  order  that  the  sheep,  and  not  the  goats,  may 
go  in  and  out  and  find  pasture.  Since  the  porter  himself  may 
be  readily  deceived,  it  is  every  man's  personal  responsibility  to  see 
that  he  enters  with  his  heart  and  soul  into  the  Church  of  God, 
if  he  does  enter  at  all ;  and  it  is  at  his  own  peril  that  he  dares  to 
intrude  unworthily  or  insincerely  into  the  fold  of  Christ. 

A  profession  carelessly  made  will  soon  be  dishonorably  aban- 
doned. We  know  who  it  was  that  said  :  "  They  went  out  from  us, 
but  they  were  not  of  us ;   for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  513 

no  doubt  have  continued  with  us :  but  they  went  out,  that  they 
might  be  made  manifest  that  they  were  not  all  of  us."  He  who 
wrote  these  words  was  of  a  loving  nature,  and  never  formed  a 
harsh  judgment,  and  therefore  from  his  verdict  we  conclude  that 
the  backslidings  and  apostasies  which  weaken  the  visible  Church 
of  Christ  are  caused  by  a  want  of  reality  at  the  commencement 
of  the  religious  life.  There  was  no  root,  and  therefore  the  plant 
withered  when  the  sun  was  risen  with  burning  heat.  There  was 
no  call  to  the  soldier's  life,  or  the  reputed  warrior  of  the  Cross 
would  not  have  so  shamefully  deserted  the  colors.  Hence  the 
stern  necessity  of  our  being  careful  in  examining  all  candidates, 
and  honest  in  warning  them  of  their  responsibilities. 

"  Have  ye  counted  the  cost, 
Have  ye  counted  the  cost, 
Ye  warriors  of  the  Cross  ? 
Are  ye  fixed  in  heart,  for  your  Master's  sake, 

To  suffer  all  earthly  loss  ? 
Can  ye  bear  the  scoflf  of  the  worldly-wise. 

As  ye  pass  by  Pleasure's  bower 
To  watch  with  your  Lord  on  the  mountain-top 
Through  the  weary  midnight  hour  ? 

"  Do  ye  answer,  '  We  can,' 
Do  ye  answer,  '  We  can,' 
Through  His  love's  constraining  power  ? 
But  do  ye  remember  the  flesh  is  weak. 

And  shrinks  in  the  trial  hour  ? 
Yet  yield  to  His  hand  who  around  you  now 

The  cords  of  a  man  would  cast, 
The  bands  of  His  love  who  was  smitten  for  you. 
To  the  altar  binding  you  fast. 

"  In  the  power  of  His  might, 
In  the  power  of  His  might, 
Who  was  made  through  weakness  strong, 
Ye  shall  overcome  in  the  fearful  fight. 

And  sing  His  victory  song. 
But  count  ye  the  cost,  yea,  count  ye  the  cost,  — 

The  forsaking  all  ye  have. 
Then  take  up  your  cross  and  follow  your  Lord, 
Not  thinking  your  life  to  save." 

33 


514  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 


THE  BEST   PREPARATION   FOR  THE   SECOND   ADVENT. 

"Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your  lights  burning;  and  ye  yourselves  like 
unto  men  that  wait  for  their  Lord."  —  Luke  xii.  35,  36. 

The  "  Daily  Telegraph  "  has  a  leading  article  commencing  as 
follows :  — 

"  There  is  a  well-known  story  in  New  England  which  relates  that 
about  a  century  ago  a  day  of  remarkable  gloom  and  darkness 
overspread  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  —  a  day 
still  spoken  of  in  local  histories  as  '  the  dark  day,'  when  the  light 
of  the  sun  was  slowly  extinguished  as  if  by  an  eclipse.  The  legis- 
lature of  Connecticut  happened  at  that  moment  to  be  in  session, 
and,  to  quote  an  American  writer,  '  As  its  members  saw  the  unex- 
pected and  unaccountable  darkness  coming  on,  they  shared  in  the 
general  awe  and  terror.  It  was  supposed  by  many  that  the  Last 
Day  —  the  Day  of  Judgment  —  had  come,  and  in  the  consterna- 
tion of  the  hour  some  member  moved  the  adjournment  of  the 
House.  Then  straightway  there  arose  an  old  Puritan  legislator, 
Davenport  of  Stamford,  and  said  that  if  the  Last  Day  had  come, 
he  desired  to  be  found  in  his  place  and  doing  his  duty;  for  which 
reasons  he  moved  that  candles  should  be  brought,  so  that  the 
House  might  proceed  with  its  debate." 

This  Davenport  of  Stamford  was  a  wise  man.  What  could  the 
other  senators  have  suggested  which  would  be  equally  suitable  for 
the  occasion?  If  it  had  been  the  Last  Day,  would  they  have  been 
more  ready  for  it  if  they  had  gone  to  their  homes  and  waited  there 
in  idleness?  Would  it  have  been  more  seemly  to  have  rushed 
into  the  street,  and  to  have  stood  there  with  gaping  mouths  look- 
ing upward  to  the  sky?  What  was  better  than  being  ready  for 
whatever  might  happen,  and  waiting  at  the  post  of  duty?  We 
believe  firmly  in  the  second  advent  of  Christ,  and  in  the  grand  fact 
that  He  may  come  at  such  an  hour  as  we  think  not;  but  what 
of  that?  What  is  the  practical  use  of  the  revelation?  Are  we 
to  forego  matters  of  immediate  concern  in  order  to  pry  into  the 


THE   BIBLE   AND   THE   NEWSPAPER.  515 

impenetrable  darkness  of  the  future?  Are  we  to  make  ourselves 
into  mere  star-gazers  and  prognosticators?  Are  we  to  spend  our 
time  in  idle  wonder,  concluding  that  every  time  we  hear  of  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars,  and  read  of  earthquakes  in  divers  places,  it  is 
an  infallible  token  that  the  end  of  the  world  is  near?  Why,  there 
have  been  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  and  all  the  other  signs,  a  score 
of  times,  and  yet  the  world  wags  on  at  its  usual  rate.  No ;  rather 
let  us  give  ourselves  up  more  entirely  to  the  pressing  demands  of 
our  Lord's  household;  let  us  bring  out  of  His  storehouse  things 
new  and  old,  continue  to  feed  our  fellow-servants,  and  welcome 
home  the  wanderers ;  and  then,  whether  the  Master  come  at  cock- 
crow or  at  midnight,  it  will  signify  little  enough  to  us.  We  shall 
welcome  Him  whenever  He  comes,  and  He  will  meet  us  with  joy, 
for  "  blessed  is  that  servant  whom  his  Lord  when  He  cometh  shall 
find  so  doing." 

Master  Davenport  of  Stamford  doubtless  had  a  solid  confidence 
in  the  Lord  Jesus ;  his  faith  had  fixed  itself  upon  His  first  advent, 
and  received  the  salvation  which  Jesus  came  to  bring;  and  there- 
fore, delivered  from  all  trepidation  and  alarm,  he  did  not  share  in 
the  general  terror,  nor  draw  inferences  of  alarm  from  the  unex- 
pected and  unaccountable  darkness.  The  heavens  might  fall,  but 
he  dwelt  above  the  heavens,  and  in  quietness  and  assurance  was 
his  strength.  Moreover,  the  good  man  possessed  a  faith  which 
manifested  itself  by  works;  his  business  was  his  religion,  and 
religion  was  his  business.  He  believed  he  was  called  of  God  to 
sit  in  the  legislature  of  Connecticut,  and  therefore  there  he  sat;  he 
only  wanted  candles,  that  he  might  see  what  he  was  at.  He  was 
doing  what  was  right,  he  was  there  to  vote  for  justice  and  truth, 
and  if  his  Master  had  come,  he  would  have  risen  from  his  seat  and 
said,  "  Here  I  am,  in  the  place  Thou  wouldst  have  me  to  occupy." 
We  remember  once  calling  upon  one  of  our  members,  a  sister  who 
managed  her  household  with  discretion.  She  was  in  humble  cir- 
cumstances, and  when  we  stopped  opposite  her  house  she  was 
whitening  the  front  steps.  She  rose  from  her  pail,  and  apologized 
for  being  found  with  her  sleeves  up ;  but  we  begged  her  to  make 
no  excuse,  for  she  was  doing  her  duty,  and  we  earnestly  hoped 
that  when  our  Lord  should  come  He  would  find  us  in  the  same 


5l6  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

condition.  If  she  had  known  we  were  coming,  it  is  just  possible 
she  would  have  put  on  her  best  gown,  and  have  been  waiting  in 
the  little  parlor;  but  we  should  not  have  been  one  half  as  charmed 
with  her  prepared  appearance  as  with  the  exhibition  of  her  every- 
day industry.  The  most  fitting  condition  for  death  and  for  judg- 
ment is  to  be  diligent  in  the  Master's  business,  fervent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord.  The  times  are  very  dark:  bring  in  the  candles, 
and  let  the  House  proceed  with  the  present  business. 

Thus  we  close,  wishing  our  readers  to  remember  the  words  of 
Him  who  so  shortly  shall  appear:  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly;  and 
My  reward  is  with  Me,  to  give  every  man  according  as  his  work 
shall  be.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the 
first  and  the  last.  Blessed  are  they  that  do  His  commandments, 
that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in 
through  the  gates  into  the  city." 


\Au^  -^ 


XXIX. 
MRS.    SPURGEON'S    WORK. 


Come  in,  O  strong  and  deep  love  of  Jesus,  like  the  sea  at  flood-tide  ;  cover 
all  my  powers,  drown  all  my  sins,  sweep  away  all  my  cares,  lift  up  my  earth- 
bound  soul,  and  float  it  right  up  to  my  Lord's  feet,  and  there  let  me  lie,  a  poor 
broken  shell,  washed  up  by  His  love,  having  no  virtue  or  value,  and  only  ven- 
turing to  whisper  to  Him  that,  if  He  will  put  His  ear  to  me.  He  will  hear  within 
faint  echoes  of  the  vast  waves  of  His  own  love  which  have  brought  me  where  it 
is  my  delight  to  lie,  even  at  His  feet  for  ever.  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S    WORK. 


WE  have  always  recoiled  from  pronouncing  fulsome  eulogies 
upon  any  worthy  persons  engaged  in  serving  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  every  right-minded  man  and  woman  shrinks 
from  that  form  of  adulation  which  is  akin  to  flattery.  Mr.  Spur- 
geon  has  had  his  share  of  praise  and  blame,  but  has  been  gra- 
ciously kept  independent  of  both.  Happy  is  the  man  who  takes 
no  heed  to  the  "  flatterer,"  and  is  alike  impervious  to  the  shafts 
of  venom  shot  by  a  jealous  hand, 

Mrs.  Spurgeon,  like  her  noble  husband,  would  fain  have  the 
crown  of  praise  placed  on  the  brow  of  Jesus,  and  glory  be  given 
to  Him  for  the  work  she  has  been  permitted  to  do.  Like  the 
model  virtuous  woman  sketched  by  the  wise  man,  "  she  stretcheth 
out  her  hand  to  the  poor;  yea,  she  reacheth  forth  her  hands  to 
the  needy.  .  .  .  She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and 
eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness.  Her  children  arise  up,  and  call 
her  blessed  ;  her  husband  also,  and  he  praiseth  her."  The  work 
which  this  amiable  lady  has  so  successfully  originated  and  main- 
tained is  worthy  of  emulation  on  the  part  of  Christian  women, 
whose  employment,  alas,  too  often,  is  that  of  "  killing  time." 

Mrs.  Spurgeon  has  been  a  constant  sufferer,  unable  to  parti- 
cipate in  the  great  schemes  of  benevolence  connected  with  her 
husband's  labors,  yet  from  her  quiet  chamber  she  has  personally 
procured  and  directed  tens  of  thousands  of  books  to  needy  pas- 
tors, whose  libraries  were  in  great  need  of  her  generous  donations. 
Besides,  she  supervises  a  private  and  humble  mission,  which  sends 
clothing  to  their  poorly  clad  children  and  suffering  wives.    Dorcas- 


520  LIFE   AND   LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

like,  she  labors  for  the  poor,  and  her  work  is  wisely  planned, 
managed  with  economy,  and  precious  in  its  results.  The  life  of 
this  dear  afflicted  lady  is  fragrant  with  benevolence ;  many  homes 
are  made  glad  as  the  results  of  her  toil. 

Her  peculiar  ministry  has  the  hearty  commendation  of  her  hus- 
band, and  his  most  prayerful  sympathy ;  in  him  she  finds  a  wise 
counsellor,  and  a  true  friend  to  the  poor  pastors  whose  need  and 
trials  become  the  objects  of  her  sympathy  and  solace.  Through 
him  she  has  received  much  material  help,  and  every  encourage- 
ment in  the  prosecution  of  her  self-imposed  task.  Thus  he 
writes :  — 

"  How  deep  is  our  own  interest  in  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  most  useful 
and  needful  work  we  need  scarcely  tell ;  we  trust  that  our  readers 
will  feel  a  measure  of  the  same  sympathy,  and  exhibit  it  in  tangi- 
ble form.  A  famine  of  books  to  a  teacher  of  others  is  almost  as 
distressing  as  want  of  bread.  Want  of  good  books  has,  we  doubt 
not,  tended  greatly  to  impoverish  the  ministries  of  many  preach- 
ers. How  could  they  fill  the  minds  of  others  when  they  had  no 
food  for  their  own?  " 

From  one  of  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  yearly  reports  we  cull  the  fol- 
lowing: — 

The  Book  Fund  makes  grants  to  poor  pastors  of  every  evan- 
gelical denomination  who  are  in  actual  charge,  wholly  devoted  to 
the  ministry,  and  whose  income  from  all  sources  does  not  exceed 
$750  per  annum. 

These  grants  consist  of  seven  or  eight  volumes,  and  usually 
comprise  the  "  Treasury  of  David,"  or  some  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
sermons,  —  not  to  the  exclusion  of  other  books,  but  chiefly  be- 
cause they  are  the  works  most  sought  after  by  applicants  to  the 
fund ;  and  I  am  not  afraid  or  ashamed  to  say  it,  because  I  know 
I  could  not,  with  the  slender  means  at  my  command,  give  any 
more  precious  or  more  helpful.  There  are  several  special  books 
for  ministers  which  I  would  at  once  add  to  my  list  if  friends  who 
wish  for  their  circulation  would  supply  me  with  the  means. 

Poor  ministers  are  the  rule,  not  the  exception :  they  are  not 
restricted  to  the  Baptist  denomination   or  to  our  own  land,  but 


MRS,    SPURGEON'S   WORK.  521 

abound  in  every  connection  and  in  all  climes;  their  needs  are 
very  urgent,  their  prospects  seldom  brighten,  and  their  ranks 
never  seem  to  thin.  My  work  for  them  is  as  great  a  necessity 
now  as  it  was  at  its  commencement,  —  nay,  I  think  its  importance 
has  increased  with  its  extension,  the  latent  thirst  for  knowledge 
has  been  developed  by  its  gifts,  and  a  keener  appetite  for  mental 
food  has  been  produced  by  the  provision  it  has  furnished.  I  need 
not  enlarge  on  the  absolute  necessity  which  exists  for  a  minister 
to  possess  books,  if  he  would  be  an  efficient  teacher  and  preacher: 
the  mind  which  is  itself  not  fed  cannot  very  long  feed  others :  but 
I  would  point  out  the  impossibility  of  procuring  these  essential 
helps  and  appliances  when  a  man  has  to  provide  for  himself  and  a 
wife  and  family  on  a  pittance  of  $300,  $400,  or  $500  per  annum. 

To  such  weary  "workers  with  a  slender  apparatus"  my  Book 
Fund  stretches  forth  a  helping  hand :  it  fills  the  empty  basket 
with  tools,  gives  a  key  to  a  well-stocked  storehouse,  replenishes 
an  exhausted  brain,  supplies  ammunition  for  the  combat  with  evil, 
makes  sunshine  in  shady  places,  and  by  God's  own  blessing  does 
a  vast  amount  of  good  wherever  its  gifts  are  scattered. 

It  is  the  joy  of  my  life  thus  to  serve  the  servants  of  my  Master, 
and  the  daily  blessings  and  tender  providences  which  surround  my 
work  are  more  precious  to  me  than  words  can  express.  Some 
of  the  subjects  of  my  thankfulness  may  seem  small  and  incon- 
siderable to  others,  but  to  me  they  are  of  constant  interest  and 
importance.  My  retired  life  shuts  out  the  usual  pleasures  of 
social  intercourse,  but  opens  wide  a  world  of  glad  delight  in  thus 
"  ministering  to  the  necessities  of  the  saints."  I  have  scores  of 
friends  with  whose  circumstances  I  am  intimately  acquainted,  yet 
whose  faces  I  have  never  looked  upon.  I  hope  to  know  and  greet 
them  on  the  "other  shore;"  and  meanwhile  their  love  and  prayers 
are  a  sweet  reward  for  such  pleasant  service  as  the  Lord  enables 
me  to  render  to  them.  In  these  pages  will  be  found  some  of  the 
expressive  outpourings  of  grateful  hearts,  and  though  the  letters 
here  given  form  but  a  small  portion  of  the  great  mass  of  affection- 
ate correspondence  connected  with  the  fund,  they  will  serve  to 
reveal  some  of  the  daily  comfort  and  encouragement  I  receive 
through  this  channel.     Ah,  if  by  His  grace  we  can  but  win  from 


522  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.   SPURGEON. 

our  Master  the  approving  words,  "  Ye  did  it  unto  me,"  the  joy  of 
service  is  then  only  "  a  httle  lower "  than  the  supreme  felicity  of 
heaven !   .  .  . 

The  following  tenderly  kind  little  note  contains  such  a  testimony 
to  the  value  of  the  Book  Fund  that  I  am  tempted  to  give  it,  even 
though  I  have  to  include  its  unmerited  commendation  of  my  own 
small  service :  — 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  —  Please  accept  the  enclosed  mite 
toward  the  Book  Fund.  If  it  please  God,  may  you  long  be  spared 
to  carry  on  this  great  and  blessed  work,  which  has  been  sancti- 
fied to  the  good  of  so  many  of  the  Lord's  servants,  and  through 
them  to  so  many  of  His  people.  Surely  this  must  redound  to  the 
praise  and  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  whose  we  are  and  whom  we 
serve.  I  believe,  dear  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  that  every  day  there  is 
praise  ascending  to  Almighty  God  for  the  blessings  many  have 
received  through  the  books  you  have  been  enabled  to  send,  and 
also  through  the  encouraging  little  notes  you  write.  I  have  to 
thank  God  for  two  or  three  of  those  little  notes,  and  oh,  how  pre- 
cious they  are !  I  shall  ever  treasure  them,  for  they  have  been 
made  a  means  of  great  blessing  to  my  soul.  May  God's  richest 
blessing  continue  to  rest  upon  you ;  may  you  be  sustained  by 
grace  divine  when  called  upon  to  suffer  and  endure;  if  it  be  in 
accordance  with  God's  will,  may  you  be  relieved  from  pain  alto- 
gether. Perhaps  this  may  never  be  on  this  side  Jordan.  How 
precious  you  must  have  found  those  words,  "  My  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  thee."  Good  Matthew  Henry  says  that  if  God  is  pleased 
to  lay  a  heavy  burden  upon  us  at  any  time,  and  yet  fits  the  shoul- 
der to  the  burden,  we  certainly  can  have  no  reason  to  complain, 
however  heavy  the  cross  may  be.  Is  not  this  true?  I  pray  that 
all  the  strength  and  grace  you  need  may  be  given  from  on  high, 
supplied  by  a  loving  Father  out  of  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ 
Jesus." 

To  ministers  who  are  not  quite  so  necessitous  as  those  for  whom 
the  Book  Fund  was  specially  founded,  yet  who  can  ill  spare  the 
published  price  of  the  "  Treasury  of  David,"  or  the  sermons,  I 
offer  these  books  at  a  somewhat  reduced  rate,  and  I  have  much 
satisfaction   in  knowing  that  the  privilege  is  warmly  appreciated. 


MRS.   SPURGEON'S    WORK.  523 

The  following  letters  are  fair  samples  of  the  spirit  in  which  the 
favor  is  sought,  and  the  warm  gratitude  evoked  by  its  accordance : 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  —  In  the  libraries  of  my  friends  I 
have  very  frequently  perused  that  most  choice  and  savory  work  of 
your  husband,  '  The  Treasury  of  David  ;  '  and  if  I  have  not  actu- 
ally incurred  the  guilt  of  breaking  the  tenth  commandment,  I  fear 
I  have  come  near  to  doing  so,  and  from  time  to  time  I  have  been 
looking  how  I  could  contrive  to  purchase  it,  but  have  found  as 
often  that  my  income  has  been  forestalled  by  family  and  other 
claims.  I  have  long  known  that  you  have  been  doing  a  most 
valuable  work  for  the  Master  by  helping  poor  pastors  to  some 
good  books,  but  hitherto  I  have  not  ventured  to  write,  lest  I 
should  be  standing  in  the  way  of  some  brother  more  necessitous 
even  than  myself.  This  week,  however,  I  was  in  the  library  of 
one  of  my  brethren,  and  again  looking  over  some  parts  of  the 
'  Treasury,'  the  desire  to  possess  it  for  myself  returned  with  such 
strength  that  I  felt  somev/hat  as  I  suppose  a  hungry  ox  would  feel 
tethered  outside,  but  just  in  sight  of,  a  luxuriant  field  of  clover. 
After  ruminating  over  the  matter  again  and  again,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  I  could  manage  part  of  the  price,  so  I  have  deter- 
mined to  say  to  you  that  I  should  esteem  it  a  great  favor  indeed 
to  receive  a  copy  from  your  hands,  if  I  shall  not  stand  too  much 
in  the  way  of  some  other  poor  brother." 

It  was,  indeed,  a  great  joy  to  open  the  gate  of  the  clover  field. 
May  the  good  brother  "  go  in  and  out  and  find  pasture." 

On  the  same  subject  a  pastor  in  one  of  our  great  Midland  towns 
writes :  — 

"  I  note  in  your  little  report  that  when  an  applicant  is  able  to 
purchase,  books  are  sent  on  the  most  advantageous  terms.  Now 
I  hope  from  time  to  time  to  be  able  to  purchase  a  volume  of  the 
sermons,  whose  true  gospel  ring  is  indeed  music  to  one's  soul. 
Will  you  kindly  jot  down  on  enclosed  post-card  the  price  at  which 
I  might  get  the  sermons  through  your  hands,  so  that  I  may  know 
what  to  lay  by  from  time  to  time,  in  order  to  add  to  my  store?  I 
am  almost  ashamed  to  trouble  you  so  soon  after  receiving  so  much 
from  you,  but  I  am  hungry  for  books,  and  cannot  help  it." 

There  is  also  a  goodly  number  of  workers  for  the  Lord,  —  evan- 


524  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

gelists,  local  preachers,  and  others,  —  who,  having  no  pastorate, 
are  ineligible  for  the  free  gift  of  the  "  Treasury,"  yet  covet  earn- 
estly this  precious  aid  in  their  work.  Many  of  these  save  up  a 
little  money,  and  sending  it  to  me  by  degrees,  have  in  time  the 
joy  of  receiving  the  longed-for  treasure,  which,  doubtless,  they 
value  none  the  less  for  the  self-denial  which  has  procured  it.  I 
often  regret  that  I  cannot  give  books  to  all  Christian  workers ;  but 
a  strict  boundary  line  is  absolutely  necessary  in  a  work  carried  on, 
not  by  a  society,  but  by  one  pair  of  hands,  and  those  not  over 
strong  or  capable. 

To-day  $[000  is  mine  from  the  great  Testimonial  Fund  raised 
last  Christmas ;  $500  is  allotted  to  the  Book  Fund,  and  $500  to 
the  Pastors'  Aid  Society.  My  dear  husband's  kindness  secures 
this  splendid  help  to  my  work,  and  I  bless  God  both  for  him  and 
his  delightful  gift.  If  John  Ploughman's  wife  might  say  here 
what  she  thinks  of  John  in  this  and  all  other  matters,  it  would  be 
an  easy  task  to  fill  these  pages  with  his  praises ;  but  since  such  a 
wifely  eulogy  might  be  deemed  out  of  place,  Mrs.  J.  P.  may  at 
least  record  in  her  little  book  her  hearty  and  appreciative  thanks 
to  the  hundreds  of  true  friends  who  have  lately  done  honor  to  the 
"  Prince  of  her  life,"  ^  and  furnished  him  with  the  means  of  more 
abundantly  blessing  all  the  poor  and  needy  ones  who  look  to  him 
as  their  best  earthly  friend  and  comforter.  If  I  knew  any  one  who 
doubted  the  truth  of  that  Scripture,  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and 
yet  increaseth,"  I  could  bring  no  more  unanswerable  proof  of  its 
veracity  than  is  found  in  the  unselfish  life  and  loving  deeds  of  the 
God-honored  man  I  reverence  as  my  head  and  husband.  I  find  a 
graceful  appropriateness  in  the  gift  of  part  of  this  money  to  Bap- 
tist pastors,  seeing  that  to  one  of  themselves  the  whole  magnificent 
sum  is  offered  as  a  tribute  of  devoted  admiration  and  love.  What  a 
joy  it  will  be  to  use  this  consecrated  gold  in  their  service  !  What 
heavy  burdens  it  will  lift !  What  aching  hearts  will  be  consoled  ! 
What  praise  to  God  will  be  given  by  joyful  lips !  When  I  think 
of  all  it  will  do,  I  wish  it  were  ten  times  as  much  !  I  get  greedy 
for  their  sakes,  —  my  poor,  weary,  toiling  brethren,  —  but  that 
only  lasts  a  moment,  for  indeed  I  am  most  fully  "satisfied  with 
favor  "  on  their  behalf,  both  from  the  Lord  and  from  man. 
1  Name  for  Mr.  Spurgeon  suggested  by  a  Welshman. 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S   WORK.  525 

I  have  been  very  pleased  during  this  year  to  see  my  work  extend 
among  the  poorly  paid  curates  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  I 
trust  a  great  blessing  will  follow  the  introduction  into  their  libra- 
ries of  such  books  as  the  "  Treasury,"  the  sermons,  and  "  Lectures 
to  my  Students."  These  gifts  are  sought  with  avidity  and  wel- 
comed with  eager  joy,  and  of  all  the  pleasant  letters  which  I 
receive  none  are  more  courteous  in  spirit  or  graceful  in  language 
than  those  penned  by  clergymen  of  the  Established  Church. 

"  Two  years  ago,"  writes  one,  "  you  presented  me  with  the 
'  Treasury  of  David,'  expressing  a  wish  that  it  might  prove  a 
'  treasure '  indeed.  Your  wish  has  been  more  than  gratified,  and 
now  I  have  an  acute  appetite  for  the  whole  of  your  respected  hus- 
band's works.  I  have  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  gospel  five 
times  every  week,  and  if  this  is  to  continue  to  be  a  pleasure  to  me, 
I  must  keep  my  soul  and  mind  well  fed.  Being  still  '  a  poor 
curate,'  I  have  to  supply  my  wants  on  the  lowest  terms,  so  I  write 
to  ask  whether,  in  gratifying  my  ardent  desire,  any  assistance  may 
be  obtained  from  that  source  of  benevolence  which  formerly  sup- 
plied the  '  Treasury  of  David.'  " 

My  readers  will  be  rejoiced  to  learn  that,  with  some  little  help 
from  the  Book  Fund,  this  clergyman  has  now  on  his  shelves  a 
complete  set  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  Pulpit,  in  addition 
to  the  "  Treasury  of  David  "  and  some  smaller  works  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon's. 

October df.  —  Truly  this  has  been  a  "red-letter  day"  in  Book- 
Fund  experience.  "  My  mouth  has  been  filled  with  laughter,  and 
my  tongue  with  singing."  My  heart  praises  and  extols  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord,  and  my  hand  shall  at  once  record  the  mercy 
which,  like  a  blessed  rain  on  a  thirsty  land,  has  so  sweetly  refreshed 
my  spirit.  This  afternoon  a  constant  and  generous  friend  brought 
$500  for  the  Book  Fund.  This  was  cause  for  devout  thankfulness 
and  great  joy,  for  lately  an  unusually  large  number  of  books  has 
been  going  out  week  by  week,  though  funds  have  flowed  in  less 
freely.  But  it  was  not  till  a  few  hours  after  receiving  this  noble 
donation  that  I  saw  fully  the  Lord's  tender  care  and  pitying  love 
in  sending  me  this  help  just  when  He  knew  I  should  most  sorely 
need  it.     By  the  late  post  that  night  came  my  quarterly  account 


526  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

for  books,  and  so  heavy  was  it,  that  in  fear  and  haste  I  turned  to 
my  ledger  to  see  the  available  balance,  and  with  an  emotion  I  shall 
not  easily  forget  I  found  that  but  for  the  gift  of  $500  a  few  hours 
previously  I  should  have  been  $300  in  debt. 

Did  not  the  Father's  care  thus  keep  the  sparrow  from  falling  to 
the  ground?  A  sleepless  night  and  much  distress  of  spirit  would 
have  resulted  from  my  discovery  of  so  serious  a  deficit  in  my 
funds,  but  the  Lord's  watchful  love  prevented  this.  "  Before  I 
called  He  answered,"  and  though  trouble  was  not  very  distant,  He 
had  said,  "  It  shall  not  come  nigh  thee."  O  my  soul,  bless  thou 
the  Lord,  and  forget  not  this  His  loving  "  benefit"  !  A  tumult  of 
joy  and  delight  arose  within  me  as  I  saw  in  this  incident,  not  a 
mere  chance,  or  a  happy  combination  of  circumstances,  but  the 
guiding  and  sustaining  hand  of  the  loving  Lord,  who  had  most 
certainly  arranged  and  ordered  for  me  this  pleasant  way  of  com- 
fort and  relief.  "  I  am  poor  and  needy,  yet  the  Lord  thinketh 
upon  me."  A  fresh  revelation  of  His  wonderful  love  seemed  to 
be  vouchsafed  to  my  soul  by  this  opportune  blessing,  and  a  cheque 
became  "  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiritual 
grace."  I  hastened  to  my  dear  husband,  that  he  might  share  my 
joy,  and  I  found  in  him  a  willing  listener  to  the  sweet  "  old  story  " 
of  his  Master's  grace  and  power.  Then,  after  a  word  or  two  of  fer- 
vent praise  to  God  on  my  behalf,  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
the  friend  by  whose  liberal  hand  our  gracious  God  had  sent  this 
notable  deliverance :  — 

"  Dear  Friend,  —  I  should  like  you  to  know  why  you  were 
sent  here  this  afternoon,  and  what  an  angel  of  mercy  you  were  to 
my  dear  wife,  and  so  to  me.  The  Lord  bless  you.  Soon  after 
you  were  gone,  my  wife's  quarter's  bill  for  books  came  in  for 
$1,700,  and  she  had  only  $1,400  apart  from  your  cheque.  Poor 
soul,  she  has  never  spent  more  than  her  income  before,  and  if  you 
had  not  come,  I  fear  it  would  have  crushed  her  to  be  $300  in  debt. 
How  good  of  the  Lord  to  send  you  in  the  nick  of  time !  We 
joined  our  praises  together,  and  we  do  also  very  gratefully  join 
our  prayers  for  you.  God  bless  you,  and  make  up  to  you  your 
generous  gifts  above  all   your  own  desires.     I  could  not  refrain 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S   WORK.  527 

from  telling  you  this :  it  is  one  of  the  sparkling  facts  which  will 
make  happy  memories  to  help  to  stay  our  faith  in  future  trials  if 
they  come.     Again,  God  bless  you.  Yours  heartily, 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

As  part  of  the  proceeds  of  his  last  lecture  in  London,  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  receiving  to-day  $125  as  the  generous  and  graceful 
gift  of  Mr.  John  B.  Gough  to  the  Book  Fund.  Such  a  gift  from  such 
a  man  is  precious  and  noteworthy,  but  not  unusual,  as  I  believe 
it  is  the  constant  habit  of  Mr.  Gough  to  bestow  blessings  as  well  as 
to  recommend  them.  Long  as  his  name  has  been  honored  in  our 
household,  and  his  special  work  admired  and  appreciated,  it  was 
not  till  his  recent  visit  to  England  that  we  had  the  happiness  of 
his  personal  acquaintance.  Now  he  has  been  twice  to  see  us 
(once  accompanied  by  his  excellent  wife),  and  a  friendship  has 
been  contracted  between  us  which,  though  interrupted  by  absence 
from  each  other  on  earth,  will  find  its  true  fruition  and  best  enjoy- 
ment in  heaven.  The  hours  we  spent  in  his  company  have  left 
fragrant  memories  not  only  of  pleasant  mirth  at  the  droll  tales  so 
inimitably  told,  but  also  of  sacred  joy  in  sweet  and  goodly  words 
which  "  ministered  grace  unto  the  hearers."  Cannot  my  friends 
imagine  that  it  was  a  rare  treat  to  listen  to  the  converse  of  John 
Ploughman  and  John  Gough? 

No  "  pen  of  a  ready  writer  "  was  there  to  record  the  good  things 
they  said,  or  to  immortalize  the  brilliant  "  table  talk  "  which  graced 
each  repast;  but  the  sweet  communion  which  knit  our  hearts 
together  will  never  be  forgotten  by  us,  and  so  deep  a  flood  of 
enjoyment  came  in  upon  my  usually  quiet  life  that  day,  that  it  will 
for  ever  ripple  pleasantly  upon  the  shores  of  memory.  To  our 
very  dear  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gough,  in  their  far-away  home  in 
the  West,  I  send  loving  greeting;  and  for  this  $125,  which  means 
so  much  joy  and  comfort  for  the  Lord's  poor  servants,  I  give  the 
warmest  thanks  of  a  grateful  heart.  .  .  . 

Two  dear  ladies  brought  me  $250  to  use  in  the  Lord's  work  as 
I  please.  What  bountiful  kindness,  its  preciousness  enhanced  by 
my  necessity !  I  divided  it  between  the  Book  Fund  and  the  Pas- 
tors' Aid,  for  in  these  times  of  universal  pressure  I  can  scarcely 


528  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C.    H,    SPURGEON. 

confine  my  gifts  to  books  in  those  cases  where  I  know  that,  though 
the  daily  bread  is  sure,  it  is  often  unaccompanied  by  more  sub- 
stantial nourishment.  It  was  only  the  other  day  I  heard  of  a 
minister  whose  last  Christmas  dinner  was  to  have  consisted  of 
a  loaf  and  steak,  because  he  could  not  afford  better  fare ;  and  I 
know  many  whose  most  creditable  fear  of  debt  compels  them  not 
only  to  keep  their  bookshelves  empty,  but  the  cupboard  very 
bare.  One  ceases  to  wonder  at  the  oft-recurring  sickness  of  many 
ministers'  wives,  and  the  extreme  delicacy  of  their  children,  when 
one  remembers  their  many  privations,  their  lack  of  nourishing 
food,  and  their  need  of  suitable  clothing.  "  My  income  barely 
enables  me  to  find  plain  food  and  scanty  clothing  for  my  wife  and 
three  children,"  writes  a  country  Independent  pastor.  "  Frequently 
I  have  saved  a  few  shillings  with  the  view  of  purchasing  a  volume 
of  the  '  Treasury,'  but  a  pair  of  shoes  or  a  little  dress  put  the  book 
aside."  In  this  last  matter  of  clothing  for  pastors'  families  there  is 
very  much  now  being  done  by  kind  friends  for  their  relief.  I  have 
elsewhere  mentioned  the  many  presents  I  receive  for  them,  and 
to-day  (mercies  never  come  singly)  a  large  chest  arrived  from 
Scotland  containing  the  wardrobes  of  two  deceased  gentlemen, 
sent  by  the  desolate  wife  and  mother.  It  has  been  a  somewhat 
sad  work  to  allot  this  valuable  gift  to  seven  needy  pastors,  but 
their  joy  in  receiving  the  good  warm  clothes  will  not  be  damped 
by  any  sorrowful  remembrances  of  departed  friends,  and  I  rejoice 
beforehand  in  their  joy.  .  .  . 

Coming  now  to  the  conclusion  of  these  sadly  irregular  chroni- 
cles, I  should  like  to  promise  —  if  the  Lord  spare  my  life  and 
prosper  the  Book  Fund  —  to  do  better  next  year.  The  "happy 
thought,"  if  it  be  a  happy  one,  of  reporting  this  little  service  in 
"  diary-fashion,"  ought  to  be  more  satisfactorily  carried  out,  and  I 
hope  to  gather  more  discreetly  and  carefully  the  material  to  be 
used  at  the  close  of  the  year  1880.  Experience  has  taught  me 
that  there  is  sure  to  be  a  fulness  of  goodness  and  mercy  to  supply 
the  record ;  but  the  same  teacher  sadly  proves  to  me  that  the 
"  recorder  "  fails  and  is  at  fault  in  not  keeping  her  "  book  of  re- 
membrance "  well  posted  up.  But  what  memory  can  keep  pace 
with  God's  mercies?    or  what  uninspired  pen  can  tell  the  thou- 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S   WORK.  529 

sandth  part  of  His  loving-kindnesses?  "  If  I  should  count  them 
they  are  more  in  number  than  the  sand."  Could  I  cull  the  choicest 
flowers  of  language,  and  bind  them  in  one  delightful  bundle  of 
thankfulness,  it  might  be  an  acceptable  offering  of  gratitude  to  the 
dear  friends  who  have  helped  me ;  but  how  can  I  worthily  praise 
and  extol  the  bounty  of  my  gracious,  loving  God?  "Thou  hast 
dealt  well  with  Thy  servant,  O  Lord,  according  to  Thy  Word." 
Blessed  be  Thy  name.  Thou  hast  daily  loaded  me  with  benefits. 
Thy  hand  has  supplied  all  my  need,  Thy  strength  has  been  made 
perfect  in  my  weakness.  Thy  loving  care  has  watched  over  my 
work,  and  "  there  hath  not  failed  one  word  of  all  Thy  good  prom- 
ise "  "  upon  which  Thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope."  And  what  can 
I  say  more  unto  Thee?  "Is  this  the  manner  of  man,  O  Lord 
God?  "  Oh,  poor  dumb  lips,  that  cannot  speak  His  praise  aright! 
Oh,  faltering  tongue,  that  as  yet  cannot  "  frame  to  pronounce " 
the  syllables  of  heaven's  own  language ! 

"  How  shall  I  praise  Him  ?     Seraphs,  when  they  bring 
The  homage  of  their  lyre, 
Veil  their  bright  face  beneath  their  wing, 
And  tremble  and  retire. 

"  Lost  in  thy  love,  yet  full  of  humble  trust, 
I  close  the  worthless  lay, 
Bow  down  my  reverent  forehead  in  the  dust, 
And  in  meek  silence  pray." 

Truly  there  are  times  when  silence  is  more  eloquent  than  speech, 
and  we  are  constrained  to  worship  "afar  off"  from  very  awe  of 
His  goodness.  Such  a  season  comes  to  me  now  as  I  sit  ponder- 
ing over  all  the  Lord's  marvellous  loving-kindness;  and  looking 
back  on  the  great  and  manifold  mercies  of  the  fast-closing  year, 
my  spirit  is  overwhelmed  within  me,  the  weight  of  blessing  seems 
almost  too  much  for  me,  and  I  lay  aside  my  poor  useless  pen  to 
bow  the  knee  before  Him  in  silent  adoration  and  thanksgiving. 
"  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  the  mercies,  and  of  all  the 
truth  which  Thou  hast  showed  unto  Thy  servant." 

The  following  pathetic  lines  from  Mr.  Spurgeon  show  how  these 
devoted  servants  of  Christ  toil  on  even  when  compassed  with  many 
infirmities :  — 

34 


530  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

Should  there  be  errors  in  the  notes,  or  in  acknowledgment  of 
goods,  or  in  aught  besides,  it  is  hoped  and  believed  that  the  edi- 
tor's ill-health  will  be  a  sufficient  apology.  We  have  done  our 
best;  but  with  a  pained  and  wearied  brain,  which  is  the  root  of 
our  malady,  we  cannot  but  fail  in  many  ways. 

Mrs.  Spurgeon  has  been  passing  through  a  very  grievous  time 
of  pain  and  weakness,  and  therefore  has  felt  quite  unequal  to 
writing  a  report.  Gladly  would  we  have  undertaken  it  for  her, 
but  we  have  been  laid  aside  also.  The  Book  Fund  is  beginning 
to  be  four  years  old,  and  is  entering,  we  hope,  upon  a  still  more 
useful  existence.  Its  need,  its  urgent  need,  among  poor  ministers 
appears  more  sadly  every  day.  It  is  true  that  pastors  ought  to  be 
sufficiently  paid  to  be  able  to  buy  books  for  themselves,  but  so 
long  as  they  are  not  it  is  a  good  and  needful  work  to  find  them 
brain  food.  A  blessing  has  rested  upon  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  distribu- 
tion of  books,  for  the  recipients  have  written  again  and  again  to 
acknowledge  the  invigoration  and  the  reviving  received  through 
the  volumes.  The  hearts  of  others  have  also  been  stirred  up  to 
think  upon  the  great  evil  of  ministerial  poverty,  and  books  have 
been  spontaneously  given  which  otherwise  would  not  have  filled 
the  pastors'  shelves.  More  money  was  received  last  year,  and 
more  given,  and  the  poor  suffering  worker  had  yet  strength  suffi- 
cient, as  she  hopes  to  have  for  another  year.  It  would  grieve  her 
much  if  friends  supposed  that  the  work  might  slacken  on  account 
of  her  illness.  She  asks  for  continued  remembrance  in  their 
prayers.  .  .  . 

Mrs.  Spurgeon  has  for  some  time  been  largely  occupied  with 
supplying  books  to  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  whose 
stipends  are  too  small  to  allow  them  to  purchase  them.  The 
amount  of  kindly  feeling  which  has  been  expressed  is  very 
pleasing,  and  we  regard  this  opportunity  of  spreading  evangelical 
truth  as  a  peculiarly  valuable  one,  which  should  be  largely  used. 
Keeping  watch  at  home  all  alone,  our  beloved  finds  great  solace 
in  the  kindly  words  of  friends  who  send  her  help  for  her  chosen 
life-work.  Its  present  interesting  phase  should  command  the 
prayers  and  sympathies  of  all  our  friends.  .  .  . 

Our  dear  wife's  Report  has  sold  so  well  that  it  has  been  need- 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S   WORK.  53  I 

ful  to  print  a  second  edition.  Many  have  written  to  say  that 
its  perusal  has  been  a  means  of  grace  to  them ;  they  could  not 
have  said  anything  more  cheering.  The  httle  book  can  still  be 
had  of  our  publishers  for  sixpence. 

Her  work  in  helping  poor  ministers  is  specially  needful  at  this 
time,  for  the  depression  in  the  agricultural  interest  has  rendered 
it  very  difficult  for  village  churches  to  support  their  ministers. 
Small  salaries  have  to  be  cut  down,  and  many  men  of  God  are  left 
with  incomes  below  starvation  point.  Let  all  be  doubly  generous 
in  this  hour  of  need.  ... 

The  needful  work  of  supplying  ministers  with  books  pro- 
ceeds with  great  regularity,  and  considerable  numbers  of  curates 
and  poor  ministers  in  the  Church  of  England,  together  with 
pastors  of  all  denominations,  apply  for  "  The  Treasury  of  David," 
and  other  works.  Could  our  readers  see  the  letters  of  thanks, 
they  would  know  how  sharp  is  the  book-hunger  which  gnaws 
the  soul  of  many  a  preacher  of  the  Word.  We  have  said 
very  little  of  late  about  this  work  which  is  carried  on  by  our 
beloved.  Only  a  few  friends  have  thought  of  the  Fund  of  late, 
and  yet  hitherto  there  has  been  no  lack ;  the  Fund  personified 
might  almost  say,  "  I  am  poor  and  needy,  yet  the  Lord  thinketh 
upon  me."  Note  the  following  fact,  and  let  the  Lord  be  glorified 
by  the  rehearsal  of  it.  A  friend  of  ours,  who  is  always  a  princely 
giver,  told  us  on  the  night  of  Mr.  Cough's  lecture  that  he  should 
call  at  Nightingale  Lane  next  day.  Knowing  his  great  business 
and  our  own,  we  half  declined  the  offer,  though  we  are  always 
glad  to  see  him ;  but  he  said  he  should  come,  and  come  he  did. 
His  errand  was  to  give  $500  to  the  Book  Fund.  Now,  reader, 
mark  this.  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  quarter's  bill  for  books  came  in  on 
that  very  Saturday  evening,  and  had  not  that  friend  insisted  on 
coming  down  and  bringing  his  $500,  our  dear  one  would  have 
been  $300  in  debt.  She  would  have  been  almost  heart-broken 
had  this  been  the  case,  for  she  had  prayed  for  help  and  expected 
it.  The  Lord  would  not  let  her  have  the  trial,  but  sent  His 
steward  at  the  very  hour,  though  he  knew  nothing  of  the  need. 
We  were  both  filled  with  adoring  thankfulness  for  this  memorable 
interposition.     It  was  not  the  first  time  in  which  we  have  together 


532  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

adored  the  Lord  in  an  amazement  of  gratitude,  nor  will  it  be  the 
last.  Thus  by  one  and  another  the  Lord  has  filled  up  the  reser- 
voir which  supplies  so  many  of  His  poor  ministers  with  refresh- 
ment; and  He  will  fill  it  yet  again.  .  .  . 

Mrs.  Spurgeon  wrote  tlie  following  note  to  her  subscribers. 
During  the  year  she  has  distributed  more  than  seven  thousand 
valuable  works  to  poor  ministers:  — 

My  dear  Friends,  —  The  past  year  has  been  crowned  with 
the  goodness  of  God  to  me  and  to  my  beloved  work,  and,  there- 
fore, I  all  the  more  deeply  regret  that  through  weakness  and 
affliction  I  have  not  as  yet  been  able  to  prepare  a  detailed  account 
of  the  blessings  the  Book  Fund  has  received  and  bestowed.  This 
lack  of  service  on  my  part  will,  I  trust,  be  soon  supplied  by  a  kind 
friend,  and  a  full  report  of  my  work  shall  then  be  laid  before  you. 
Meanwhile,  I  send  forth  this  little  messenger  to  testify  to  the 
unfailing  faithfulness  and  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  strengthening 
me  for  the  service  which  His  love  has  allotted  me. 

Sore  need  have  I  had  for  His  tender,  pitiful  care,  and  He  has 
never  failed  me ;  but,  in  spite  of  almost  constant  ill-health.  He  has 
enabled  me  to  accomplish  even  an  increased  amount  of  work,  and 
has  extended  the  benefits  of  the  Book  Fund  far  and  wide.  To  His 
name  be  the  praises  of  my  heart. 

From  all  parts  of  the  world  I  have  abundant  testimony  to  the 
reviving  and  refreshment  of  spirit  God's  ministers  receive  through 
the  quiet  agency  of  this  book-giving,  and  the  loving  letters  of 
grateful  hearts  are  no  slight  comfort  and  reward  for  service  often 
done  in  weariness  and  pain. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon's  works  are  crammed  full  of  the  good  old  corn 
of  Canaan:"  so  writes  a  pastor  laboring  in  Queensland ;  and  I 
count  it  a  high  honor  that  the  "Lord  of  the  harvest"  has  given  me 
charge  of  so  glorious  a  granary,  from  whose  precious  stores  I  can 
scatter  so  widely  both  "seed  for  the  sower  and  bread  for  the 
eater."  My  accounts  show  that  18,693  volumes  have  been  distrib- 
uted during  three  years  of  the  Fund's  existence.  This  is  a  brief, 
bare  statement  of  facts,  and  does  not  reveal  the  joy  and  blessing 
which  lie  beneath  it ;   but,  thanks  be  to  God,  I  can  truly  say  that 


MRS.   SPURGEON'S   WORK.  533 

"  the  administration  of  this  service  not  only  supplieth  the  want 
of  the  saints,  but  is  abundant  also  by  many  thanksgivings  unto 
God." 

My  most  heartfelt  thanks  are  tendered  to  you,  dear  friends,  for 
your  constant  remembrance  of  my  work,  the  loving  interest  you 
have  taken  in  its  welfare,  and  the  generous  help  you  have  given 
to  its  funds. 

Your  gifts  are  received  as  "  from  the  Lord,"  often  coming  as 
special  answers  to  prayer,  and  always  as  tokens  of  His  favor  and 
approval  of  the  work ;  and  when  they  have  thus  enriched  my 
soul,  they  carry  to  the  weary,  toiling  servants  of  the  Master 
substantial  blessings,  divine  luxuries,  the  worth  of  which  only  a 
poor  "  bookless  "  pastor  can  rightly  appreciate. 

With  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  to  the  Lord  and  to  you,  believe 
me,  dear  friends, 

Your  deeply  obliged  servant, 

Susie  Spurgeon. 

Though  barely  six  years  of  age,  Mrs.  Spurgeon's  Book  Fund 
shows  all  the  symptoms  of  vigorous,  healthy  life,  and  among  the 
class  whom  it  seeks  to  benefit,  the  little  institution  has  naturally 
become  one  of  the  most  popular  in  the  country.  The  complete 
catholicity  of  the  superintendent  will  also  command  our  respect; 
for  all  evangelical  ministers  of  the  Word,  whether  in  the  Estab- 
lishment or  out  of  it,  are  eligible  for  grants,  provided  only  that 
their  average  incomes  are  under  $750  a  year.  Upwards  of  seven 
thousand  volumes  have  been  sent  out  in  the  year,  besides  6,262 
single  sermons ;  and  while  each  of  the  Nonconformist  bodies  is 
well  represented,  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  Church  of 
England  clergymen  were  among  the  recipients.  The  revelations 
of  ministerial  indigence  are  sufficiently  saddening;  but  we  are 
glad  to  find  that  Mrs.  Spurgeon  also  sends  money  and  clothes 
to  relieve  not  a  few  urgent  cases  of  a  more  pressing  kind.  The 
"  Report,"  to  the  Christian  mind,  will  be  found  to  be  of  absorbing 
interest ;  the  style  is  terse,  and  every  page  is  pervaded  by  that  fine 
sympathy  which  is  characteristic  of  the  writer. 

A  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  writing  to  Mrs.  Spur- 


534  LIFE    AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

geon  for  a  grant  of  books,  says :  •'  Your  husband  has,  by  the 
pubhcation  of  a  most  useful  book,  '  Commenting  and  Commenta- 
ries,' done  more  than  a  little  in  forming  my  taste  and  adding  to 
my  desire  for  books.  This  book  was  my  consulting  guide  while 
at  college,  and  has  been  of  great  service  to  me  since  in  using  the 
libraries  of  friends  and  in  making  purchases." 

Mrs.  Spurgeon's  Report  of  her  "  Book  Fund  and  its  Work"  for 
1 88 1  is  a  record  of  practical  Christianity.  The  good  service  that 
she  has  rendered  to  the  Christian  Church,  by  providing  poor 
pastors  with  good  and  helpful  books,  is  in  itself  incalculable. 
During  the  six  years  of  its  existence  the  Fund  has  enabled  her  to 
distribute  41,630  volumes.  The  Pastors'  Aid  Fund  is  another  ad- 
mirable branch  of  this  invalid  lady's  beneficence,  and  though  for 
good  reasons  little  is  said  about  it,  we  can  very  well  understand  the 
good  that  it  accomplishes  in  a  quiet  and  delicate  way.  Not  least 
among  the  many  recommendations  of  this  noble  enterprise  is  the 
catholicity  of  its  scope.  In  days  when  sectarian  rancor  often  runs 
high,  and  there  is  much  division  in  the  Christian  camp,  we  cannot 
be  too  thankful  for  any  agency  that  obliterates  these  dividing  lines 
by  the  overflowing  tide  of  sympathy  and  help. 

When  we  state  that  Mrs.  Spurgeon  is  the  president  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Working  Society,  our  readers  will  readily  understand  how 
a  great  deal  of  information  about  poor  pastors  is  obtained.  Her 
Book  Fund  has  made  her  name  a  household  word  wherever  needy 
ministers  are  to  be  found,  but  that  sweet  ministry  of  love  was  only 
the  natural  supplement  of  this  other  equally  necessary  work  which 
has  been  quietly  carried  on  for  the  last  twelve  years.  It  was  but 
meet  that  she  who  had  been  so  long  at  the  head  of  a  movement 
for  supplying  the  much-needed  '  cloke  '  that' should  keep  out  the 
cold,  or  give  the  pastor  that  respectable  appearance  which  his 
office  demanded,  should  in  due  time  seek  to  furnish  the  'books' 
which  are  as  indispensable  to  those  who  would  '  give  attendance 
to  reading '  as  the  desired  addition  to  his  little  library  in  his  prison 
at  Rome  was  to  the  Apostle  Paul.  Her  long  and  trying  affliction 
has  of  course  prevented  the  president  from  actively  superintend^ 
ing  the  preparation  and  distribution  of  the  different  parcels,  but 
many  an  applicant  could  tell  that  a  well-directed  hint  from  her 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S   WORK.  535 

first  revealed  to  him  a  channel  through  which  the  wants  of  himself 
and  his  family  might  be  supplied.  Here  is  an  extract  from  one  of 
the  most  recent  letters  before  us:  'Mrs.  Spurgeon  wrote  to  me 
and  said  you  would  kindly  and  efficiently  help  me  and  the  chil- 
dren.' It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  request  for  help 
received  in  such  a  form  as  this  obtained  a  ready  response.  Others 
write  as  follows:  'We  are  very  thankful  to  dear  Mrs.  Spurgeon 
for  mentioning  our  names  to  you.'  '  We  are  unfeignedly  grateful 
to  the  utmost  degree  to  our  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  for  men- 
tioning our  names.'  '  I  feel  truly  grateful  to  Mrs.  Spurgeon  for 
the  kind  sympathy  she  has  shown  towards  me  and  my  family  in 
recommending  our  case  to  your  very  valuable  society.' 

"  Any  one  who  goes  to  the  ladies'  room  at  the  Tabernacle  on 
the  Wednesday  following  the  third  and  fourth  Sundays  in  each 
month  can  see  how  heartily  our  energetic  sisters  devote  their  time 
and  energies  to  the  holy  enterprise  of  ministering  to  the  wants  of 
the  Lord's  poor  servants.  We  have  already  stated  that  their  main 
object  is  to  help  the  families  of  needy  ministers  in  England  by 
sending  them  suitable  parcels  of  clothing ;  but  their  Annual  Report, 
issued  in  May  last,  informs  us  that  they  had  also  assisted  a  few  of 
the  agents  of  the  Tabernacle  Colportage  Association  who  have 
been  ill.  The  gratitude  with  which  their  gifts  were  received,  and 
the  facts  that  came  to  light  about  the  straits  in  which  these  godly 
men  are  often  placed,  induced  the  committee  to  determine  to  let 
them  continue  to  share  in  the  bounty  they  had  to  dispense,  always 
provided,  as  our  legal  friends  would  say,  that  the  claims  of  poor 
pastors  were  satisfied  first.  This  is  what  they  say :  '  Those  who 
are  best  acquainted  with  the  colporteurs  and  their  work  know  that 
it  is  a  work  which  involves  much  self-sacrifice,  and  which  certainly 
is  not  overpaid.  While  we  wish  to  help  the  colporteurs,  we  do  not 
intend  to  forget  poor  ministers.  Our  labors  for  them  we  shall  not 
in  the  least  abate.  What  we  ask  is  that  our  friends  will  help  us  in 
this  new  development  of  our  society ;  for  without  this  help  is 
given  it  will  be  impossible  for  us  to  render  assistance  to  those 
hard-working  and  useful  servants  of  our  Master,  the  colporteurs. 
We  are  ready  for  increased  labor;  our  hands  are  willing,  our 
hearts  are  willing.     Let  our  friends  come  forward  and  help   us. 


536  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

and  thus  share  with  us  the  joy  of  pouring  gladness  into   hearts 
which  otherwise  might  have  been  downcast  and  sad.'  " 

The  accompanying  extracts  from  letters  received  by  the  society 
reveal  what  a  precious  work  it  is  quietly  carrying  on.  A  pastor 
writes :  — 

"  My  income  is  $6  per  week,  with  a  wife  and  four  children. 
Being  placed  in  such  an  isolated  spot,  we  find  the  necessaries  of 
life  very  dear,  clothing  particularly  so,  although  new  garments  do 
not  come  often  in  our  way,  for  things  have  to  be  turned  and 
altered,  and  it  is  often  a  puzzle  to  me  how  my  dear  wife  contrives 
as  she  does.  My  best  coat  was  purchased  eight  years  since,  so 
that  you  will  think  I  am  not  wasteful." 

On  receipt  of  the  parcel  which  was  sent  to  him,  he  wrote : 
"  The  great  difficulty  now  is  to  know  how  to  thank  you  and 
your  helpers.  The  fact  is  you  ought  to  have  been  here,  for  no 
words  of  mine  can  adequately  express  the  joy  and  gladness  that 
were  expressed  on  my  wife's  face  at  the  sight  of  the  things  you 
had  so  kindly  sent  us.  We  both  join  heartily  to  thank  you  and 
your  co-workers  for  the  new-year's  gift  just  received;  and  if  you 
have  at  all  felt  the  force  of  the  truth  that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive,  then  I  must  say  that  you  are  blessed  indeed." 

Another  pastor  writes :  "  I  cannot  tell  you  how  thankful  we 
both  are  to  you  and  to  the  Ladies'  Mission  for  the  very  valuable 
parcel  you  have  sent  us.  Its  contents  both  surprised  and  delighted 
us ;  it  seemed  as  though  you  had  overheard  my  dear  wife  as  she 
had  talked  with  me  concerning  the  many  things  she  absolutely 
needed,  but  saw  no  prospect  of  obtaining.  We  can  scarcely 
realize  that  our  needs  have  been  supplied.  Truly  our  Heavenly 
Father's  hand  is  in  the  matter,  for  He  knew  our  needs." 

Another:  "On  behalf  of  my  dear  wife  and  myself  I  write  to 
say  that  we  received  your  large  and  valuable  parcel  this  evening. 
It  would  have  done  you  and  the  kind  friends  good  to  have  seen 
the  joy  of  our  children  as,  one  after  another,  the  articles  were 
unfolded  and  displayed.  Everything,  to  use  my  wife's  words,  was 
exactly  what  was  wanted,  and  the  things  you  sent  for  her  have 
filled  her  with  joy  and  thankfulness.  The  Master  will  record  one 
more  act  done  to  His  servants  for  His  sake.     We  can  only  thank 


MRS.    SPURGEON'S    WORK.  537 

you;   He  will  commend  and  reward  you   for  that  which  sprang 
from  love  to  Him." 

The  following  touching  incident  is  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Spur- 
geon.  May  "  the  afflicted,  tost  with  tempest,  and  not  comforted  " 
reader  find  relief  and  rest  while  reading  this  sweet  story  of 
imprisoned  music:  — 

A  curious  little  incident  happened  lately  during  a  time  of  pro- 
longed sickness.  At  the  close  of  a  very  dark  and  gloomy  day,  I 
lay  resting  on  my  couch  as  the  deeper  night  drew  on,  and  though 
all  was  bright  within  my  cosey  little  room,  some  of  the  external 
darkness  seemed  to  have  entered  into  my  soul  and  obscured  its 
spiritual  vision.  Vainly  I  tried  to  see  the  Hand  which  I  knew 
held  mine,  and  guided  my  fog-enveloped  feet  along  a  steep  and 
slippery  path  of  suffering.  In  sorrow  of  heart  I  asked,  "  Why 
does  my  Lord  thus  deal  with  His  child?  Why  does  He  so  often 
send  sharp  and  bitter  pain  to  visit  me?  Why  does  He  permit 
lingering  weakness  to  hinder  the  sweet  service  I  long  to  render 
to  His  poor  servants?"  These  fretful  questions  were  quickly 
answered,  and  though  in  a  strange  language,  no  interpreter  was 
needed  save  the  conscious  whisper  of  my  own  heart.  For  a  while 
silence  reigned  in  the  little  room,  broken  only  by  the  crackling  of 
the  oak-log  burning  on  the  hearth.  Suddenly  I  heard  a  sweet, 
soft  sound,  a  little  clear,  musical  note,  like  the  tender  trill  of  a 
robin  beneath  my  window.  "What  can  that  be?"  I  said  to  my 
companion,  who  was  dozing  in  the  firelight;  "surely  no  bird  can 
be  singing  out  there  at  this  time  of  the  year  and  night."  We 
listened,  and  again  Ijeard  the  faint,  plaintive  notes,  so  sweet,  so 
melodious,  yet  mysterious  enough  to  provoke  for  a  moment  our 
undisguised  wonder.  Presently  my  friend  exclaimed,  "  It  comes 
from  the  log  on  the  fire !  "  and  we  soon  ascertained  that  her 
surprised  assertion  was  correct.  TJie  fire  was  letting  loose  the  im- 
prisoned music  from  the  old  oak's  inmost  heart  I  Perchance  he  had 
garnered  up  this  song  in  the  days  when  all  went  well  with  him, 
when  birds  twittered  merrily  on  his  branches,  and  the  soft  sunlight 
flecked  his  tender  leaves  with  gold.  But  he  had  grown  old  since 
then,  and  hardened ;    ring  after  ring  of  knotty  growth  had  sealed 


538  LIFE  AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

up  the  long-forgotten  melody,  until  the  fierce  tongues  of  the 
flames  came  to  consume  his  callousness,  and  the  vehement  heat 
of  the  fire  wrung  from  him  at  once  a  song  and  a  sacrifice.  Ah, 
thought  I,  when  the  fire  of  affliction  draws  songs  of  praise  from 
us,  then  indeed  are  we  purified,  and  our  God  is  glorified !  Per- 
haps some  of  us  are  like  this  old  oak  log,  cold,  hard,  and  insen- 
sible ;  we  should  give  forth  no  melodious  sounds,  were  it  not  for 
the  fire  which  kindles  round  us,  and  releases  tender  notes  of  trust 
in  Him,  and  cheerful  compliance  with  His  will.  "As  I  mused  the 
fire  burned,"  and  my  soul  found  sweet  comfort  in  the  parable  so 
strangely  set  forth  before  me.  Singing  in  the  fire.  Yes.  God 
helping  us,  if  that  is  the  only  way  to  get  harmony  out  of  these 
hard,  apathetic  hearts,  let  the  furnace  be  heated  seven  times  hotter 
than  before. 


Charles  Spurgeon. 


XXX. 

CHARLES    SPURGEON. 

(ONE   OF   THE   TWIN   SONS   OF   PASTOR  C    H.   SPURGEON.) 


God,  like  a  wise  father,  trains  us  prudently,  and  as  we  are  able  to  bear  it  He 
makes  our  service  and  our  suffering  more  and  more  arduous.  As  boys  rejoice 
to  be  treated  like  men,  so  will  we  rejoice  in  our  greater  tribulations,  for  here  is 
man's  work  for  us,  and  by  God's  help  we  will  not  flinch  from  doing  it.  "  Quit 
yourselves  hke  men  ;  be  strong."  —  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


CHARLES    SPURGEON. 


CHARLES  SPURGEON,  one  of  the  twin  sons  of  Pastor 
C.  H.  Spurgeon,  was  born  in  Nightingale  Lane,  Balham, 
near  London,  on  Sept.  20,  1856. 

He  with  his  brother  was  educated  at  Camden  House  School, 
Brighton.  Here  he  was  noted  as  a  cricketer,  and  one  of  the 
most  active  in  every  sport.  He  acquitted  himself  honorably  in 
the  scholastic  department,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  some 
handsome  prizes. 

After  a  creditable  course  of  study,  school  was  quitted  by  the 
brothers  in  1874.  They  returned  to  Balham,  and  prepared  for 
the  great  business  of  life.  Here  their  pathways,  which  had  hith- 
erto run  from  infancy  in  the  same  direction,  began  to  diverge. 
Thomas  adopted  art  as  his  profession,  and  attained  some  con- 
siderable proficiency  in  engraving;  while  Charles,  whose  persever- 
ance was  combined  with  a  firm  will,  entered  the  office  of  a  city 
shipping  firm. 

Charles  Spurgeon's  conversion  took  place  under  the  following 
circumstances.  He  was  out  riding  accompanied  by  a  Christian 
friend,  when  their  conversation  turned  into  a  religious  channel. 
Rain  came  on,  and  they  sought  shelter  under  a  tree.  Dismount- 
ing, they  both  knelt  down  upon  the  grass,  while  his  friend  offered 
up  a  prayer.  It  was  during  this  short  season  of  communion  that 
the  glorious  sunshine  of  truth  broke  in  upon  his  young  heart, 
and  his  warm  affections  and  services  were  henceforth  devoted  to 
the  Lord.  This  was  the  turning-point  to  which  his  religious  and 
prayerful  home-training  had  long  been  leading. 


542  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON, 

The  cry  raised  from  Macedonia,  long  ages  past,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us,"  was  raised  from  a  little  mission  in  the  densely  popu- 
lated neighborhood  of  Chatham  Road,  and  reached  Nightingale 
Lane,  where  it  was  readily  responded  to  by  the  twin  brothers. 

They  visited  this  place,  and  found  that  meetings  were  being  held 
in  the  cottage  of  a  gardener,  who  was  somewhat  at  a  loss  to  find 
speakers.  Here  they  labored  together,  and  soon  the  project  of 
erecting  a  chapel  was  taken  in  hand  by  the  two  brothers.  It  was 
nearly  completed,  when  ill-health  compelled  Mr.  Thomas  Spurgeon 
to  sail  for  Australia. 

Left  to  pursue  this  work  alone,  Mr.  Charles  Spurgeon  felt  the 
increase  of  labor  it  entailed.  He  was  then  in  business,  and  besides 
the  services  on  Sunday  he  held  two,  and  often  three,  week-night 
meetings.  At  last  the  commodious  and  comfortable  building  now 
in  use  was  finished,  and  duly  opened  by  a  sermon  preached  within 
its  walls  by  his  father.  The  labors  of  his  son  Charles  were  thus 
augmented.  He  had  the  sole  care  of  this  chapel ;  the  only  assist- 
ance he  received  being  that  rendered  by  a  young  friend  in  some 
minor  affairs. 

Although  his  father  never  sought  to  persuade  him  to  become  a 
preacher,  doubtless  it  was  an  answer  to  many  prayers  breathed 
by  the  parents  when  Charles  felt  constrained  to  withdraw  from 
commercial  pursuits,  to  enter  the  Pastors'  College,  with  a  view 
to  the  ministry,  in  1877. 

Here,  on  account  of  his  superior  education,  he  speedily  became 
one  of  the  first  scholars,  adding  to  the  Latin  and  Greek  in  which 
he  was  already  proficient,  Hebrew  and  general  theological  studies. 

In  the  mean  while  it  became  evident  that  he  was  pre-eminently 
suited  for  a  wider  sphere  of  Gospel  work  than  that  of  Chatham-road 
Chapel.  The  congregations  could  not  be  large  in  so  small  a  chapel ; 
and  although  he  did  not  use  long  words  or  eloquent  similes  which 
were  above  the  intellectual  capacities  of  his  hearers,  yet  his  ser- 
mons were  manifestly  suited  for  a  more  educated  class.  Occasion- 
ally he  had  preached  sermons  in  different  parts  of  England,  which 
were  attended  with  great  success,  very  many  souls  being  converted. 
Among  other  places  he  visited  were  Cambridge,  Oxford,  Isle  of 
Wight,  and  several  of  the  large  manufacturing  towns. 


CHARLES   SPURGEON.  543 

In  1879  he  received  a  call  from  the  congregation  at  South 
Street,  Greenwich.  He  had  preached  there  once  or  twice,  and  at 
each  service  the  commodious  structure  was  crowded.  The  call 
was,  after  prayerful  deliberation,  accepted,  and  Mr.  Charles  Spur- 
geon  entered  upon  his  first  pastorate  there  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three. 

The  church  to  which  he  was  called  had  relapsed  into  a  luke- 
warm and  indifferent  state,  the  numbers  being  few  and  no  pastor  at 
its  head.  These  difficulties  Mr.  Charles  Spurgeon  saw  and  grap- 
pled with.  The  battle  against  indifference  was  gained,  and  he  has 
been  greatly  blessed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  salvation  of  many 
souls  in  Greenwich.  The  building,  which  was  almost  empty,  is 
now  filled  with  nearly  a  thousand  hearers.  A  debt  of  five  thou- 
sand dollars  which  incumbered  the  chapel  has  been  paid  off,  and 
the  church  rejoices  in  many  tokens  of  spiritual  prosperity.  Pastor 
C.  Spurgeon  was  married  on  April  11,  1881,  to  Miss  S,  A.  Jacob, 
by  his  father.  She  is  said  to  be  a  true  co-worker  with  him  in  his 
service  for  the  Master. 


HOLY  ARITHMETIC. 

SERMON   BY   C.    SPURGEON,    PREACHED   AT    SOUTH   STREET,    GREENWICH. 

{Abridged from  shorthand  notes.) 

"Mercy  unto  you,  and  peace,  and  love,  be  multiplied."  — JUDE  2. 

A  TRINITY  of  blessings  is  often  to  be  met  with  in  God's  Word. 
Here  we  have  three  choice  gems,  —  mercy,  peace,  and  love, — which 
seem  to  sparkle  as  we  gaze  upon  them,  and  happy  is  the  man  who, 
while  looking  on  them,  can  say,  "  They  are  mine."  It  is  God's 
happiness  to  crown  all  His  people  with  goodness.  For  awhile, 
indeed,  we  may  have  to  wear  a  crown  of  thorns,  as  our  Master  did ; 
but  even  this  shall  be  a  glory  to  us.  What  is  it  you  have  on  your 
brow  now?  Is  it  not  a  golden  diadem  wrought  by  a  gracious 
Lord?     It  is  as  if  God  would  weave  a  wreath  for  our  heads  out  of 


544  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

His  mercy,  and  intertwine  it  with  the  Hly  of  peace  and  adorn  it 
with  the  rose  of  love.  May  this  trio  of  blessings  be  given  to  each 
one  of  us,  and  be  multiplied.  God's  gifts  always  come  in  com- 
pany. He  is  God,  and  gives  as  a  God.  Man,  indeed,  has  limited 
means,  and  so  must  be  limited  in  his  gifts;  but  God's  blessings  are 
unbounded,  and  they  come  in  triplets  to  us.  Mercy  is  accom- 
panied with  peace  and  love,  and  since  God  blesses  His  children 
thus,  when  we  come  to  Him  in  prayer  let  us  ask  for  a  full  supply 
of  His  favors.  Jude  would  crave  for  a  three-fold  benediction  to 
abide  upon  the  saints  of  God.  Do  you  say,  "  If  we  have  mercy, 
that  is  enough?  "  No  ;  there  is  more  to  be  enjoyed,  for  peace  and 
love  are  to  follow.  When  we  are  speaking  for  others,  let  us  be 
very  bold.  We  may  be  somewhat  backward  when  we  seek  bless- 
ings for  ourselves,  we  are  so  sinful,  and  we  know  it;  but  when  we 
ask  for  others,  "  large  petitions  let  us  bring  "  —  for  them  let  us  seek 
mercy,  peace,  and  love. 

I  want  now  to  indulge  in  a  little  holy  arithmetic.  First  there 
is  a  S7im  iit  addition,  —  "Mercy,  and  peace,  and  love."  Add 
these  together.  Then  there  is  a  snm  in  multiplication,  —  "  Mercy, 
and  peace,  and  love,  be  multiplied ;  and  then  by  way  of  applica- 
tion, a  sum  in  practice. 

I.  In  the  first  place  we  have  a  sum  in  addition.  As  Christians 
we  must  never  be  content  with  the  measure  of  our  grace.  Do 
not  be  satisfied  to  remain  dwarf  trees,  but  seek  to  be  growing 
higher  and  higher,  and  at  the  same  time  sending  your  roots  deeper 
and  deeper.  Like  giant  palms,  let  our  heads  be  lifted  up  to 
heaven,  where  the  warm  sunshine  of  divine  love  shall  cherish 
growth,  while  our  roots  derive  nourishment  from  the  deep  springs 
of  secret  grace.  A  sacred  thirsting  and  hungering  after  celestial 
delicacies  is  what  the  Christian  should  at  all  times  possess.  We 
have  sipped  of  the  precious  liquid  only;  let  us  take  the  cup  salva- 
tion, which  overflows,  and  drink  it  dry  if  we  can.  A  crumb  will  not 
feed  a  famished  soul ;  let  us  partake  to  the  full  of  this  heavenly 
bread.  The  first  figure  in  this  sum  is  "  mercy,"  and  it  is  a  very 
high  number  indeed.  It  stands  foremost,  for  it  is  the  chief  of 
God's  dealings  with  us,  whereby  He  pities  us  in  our  helplessness. 
We  have  already  received  much,  but  we  are  to  add  to  it;   for  "  He 


CHARLES   SPURGEON.  545 

hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,"  but  favor  has  been  shown 
to  the  undeserving,  mercy  to  those  who  are  full  of  sin.  He  has 
shown  not  only  clemency  in  bestowing  pardon,  but  His  bountiful 
mercy,  whereby  He  sufficiently  supplies  our  wants,  "  even  the  sure 
mercies  of  David."  So  that  whatever  we  need,  let  us  seek  the 
stream  bearing  on  its  tide  blessings  for  our  souls  to-day.  Pray  for 
this  to  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  and  He  will  add  mercy  to 
mercy.  The  best  way  to  complete  this  sum  is  by  coming  to  the 
mercy-seat.  Therefore  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that 
you  may  obtain  mercy.  The  Father  of  all  mercies  will  hear  and 
bless.  We  cry,  "  Have  mercy  upon  us,  according  unto  the  mul- 
titude of  Thy  tender  mercies." 

Then  add  to  mercy  "  peace."  What  a  glorious  numeral  is  this  ! 
As  soon  as  we  gain  pardon  there  must  come  peace.  For  what  soul 
shall  dwell  ill  at  ease  that  feels  its  sins  forgiven?  It  is  iniquity 
that  causes  pain ;  when  this  is  removed  there  is  a  holy  health  of 
soul.  The  peace  of  God  rules  in  our  hearts,  and  keeps  them  too. 
Now  are  we  reconciled  to  God  through  the  death  of  His  dear  Son; 
we  are  at  peace  with  Him.  The  enmity  of  our  hearts  has  been 
slain,  and  it  is  our  delight  to  be  in  His  company.  We  want  to 
have  more  of  this  peace;  how  shall  we  gain  it?  Only  by  seeking 
to  hold  more  communion  with  our  God.  If  this  fair  flower  is  to 
grow  within  our  hearts,  the  dew  of  heaven  must  fall  upon  it  during 
the  hours  of  calm  fellowship  with  God.  We  must  dwell  in  Him, 
and  He  in  us.  Then  there  will  come  also  a  peace  with  self.  Plav- 
ing  no  longer  the  consciousness  of  guilt,  but  of  satisfaction,  being 
right  with  God,  we  are  happy  in  ourselves,  and  peace  pervades  our 
spirits.  The  uprising  of  evil  is  quelled  by  the  tranquillizing  influ- 
ence of  a  clear  conscience,  and  so  a  holy  peace  abides  within  our 
hearts.  Reign  on,  O  powerful  yet  pacific  Prince,  and  peace  shall 
evermore  crown  us  with  prosperity !  Have  we  got  that  peace  with 
God?  It  is  only  by  justification  that  we  can  obtain  it.  Through 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is  our  peace,  we  enjoy  this  blessing.  Shall  we 
not  add,  then,  to  our  heart's  content?  In  Him  are  the  springs 
of  peace  and  love.  Oh,  that  this  peace  may  flow  as  a  river 
within  us ! 

Yet  again,   there  is  another   figure    to  add,   and    it   is    "  love." 

35 


546  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Surely  there  is  no  more  room.  We  are  already  full,  now  that  we 
have  the  "  mercy  of  God  "  and  the  "  peace  of  God;  "  what  more 
can  we  have?  Add  to  all  this  the  "  love  of  God,"  a  boon  beyond 
all  calculation,  a  prize  of  infinite  value.  Many  have  got  a  little  of 
this  treasure ;  would  to  God  all  had  more.  Love  lies  smouldering 
in  our  hearts.  O  Breath  Divine,  blow  these  sparks  into  burning 
fires !  Grace  changes  all  within  us,  for  while  we  receive  such  mercy 
and  enjoy  such  peace  from  the  hands  of  our  loving  Lord,  we  feel 
we  must  love  in  return.  "We  love  because  we  are  loved,"  and  this 
love  is  a  habit  wrought  in  us  by  God  Himself,  who  is  love.  Do  we 
hear  the  Master  say,  "  Lovest  thou  Me?  "  We  answer,  "  Lord,  thou 
knowest  that  we  love  Thee ;  "  and  we  might  add  more  than  Peter 
said,  "  We  do  not  love  Thee  as  we  should,  nor  even  as  we  would." 
The  true  mother  would  not  have  her  child  divided,  neither  would 
God  have  the  hearts  of  His  true  children  divided  in  their  affec- 
tions. 

"Burn,  burn,  O  Love,  within  my  breast 

Burn  fiercely  night  and  day, 

Till  all  the  dross  of  earthly  loves 

Is  burned  and  burned  away." 

Let  the  love  of  God  be  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  as  the  sunlight, 
gleaming  through  the  painted  window  of  a  cathedral,  sheds  a 
beauty  upon  all,  adorning  yet  not  disarranging  aught.  So  the 
love  of  God  should  shine  in  our  hearts,  making  everything  beau- 
tiful, our  thoughts,  our  words,  our  actions  all  being  lit  up  with  His 
love.  Now  put  these  three  together,  —  mercy,  peace,  love,  —  and 
what  a  grand  total  they  make, — items  in  the  grace  of  God  for  all 
to  enjoy. 

n.  Now  we  come  to  our  smn  in  multiplication.  If  I  want  to  in- 
crease rapidly,  let  me  have  the  multiplication  table,  and  let  it  be  by 
compound  multiplication  too.  Multiply  by  that  which  has  been 
itself  multiplied.  Mercy,  and  peace,  and  love,  multiplied  by  mercy, 
and  peace,  and  love,  which  have  been  multiplied.  Is  this  a  hard 
sum?  God  can  help  us  to  do  it  if  we  also  help  ourselves.  The 
first  thing  that  affords  aid  is  memory.  Think  of  the  mercies  of 
yesterday,  put  them  down,  then  multiply  them  by  the  mercies 
of  to-day,  and  so  on  and  on,  meditating  upon  the  favors  of  years 


CHARLES    SPURGEON.  547 

past,  and  you  will  find  by  this  mental  exercise  that  the  mercy  you 
now  enjoy  will  be  multiplied.  Let  every  mercy  have  a  dot  over  it 
to  show  that  it  is  a  recurring  one.  And  memory  will  refresh  you 
concerning  peace  too.  Remember  when  the  heart  was  broken, 
and  the  spirit  was  tried  with  anguish,  how  Jesus  spake  to  you  in 
words  of  tender  love  and  blessed  comfort.  After  the  thunder  and 
the  whirlwind  there  was  the  "  still  small  voice  "  which  whispered 
peace.  The  dashing  billows  bore  upon  their- crested  summits  the 
all-powerful  voice  of  a  loving  Saviour,  who  said,  "  It  is  I ;  be  not 
afraid,"  and  immediately  there  was  a  calm.  Recollect  the  morn- 
ing of  bright  joy  which  followed  the  nights  of  sadness.  Love,  too, 
must  be  remembered  if  it  is  to  be  multiplied.  Review  all  the 
tokens  received  in  the  past,  all  the  choice  souvenirs.  Take  down 
that  bundle  of  letters,  and  let  Memory  refresh  herself  by  re-reading 
all  the  words  of  love  written  by  a  gracious  God.  Thus  shall 
memory  help  us  in  our  multiplication. 

Another  help  we  may  have  is  imit?ial  intercourse.  As  a  boy  at 
school  runs  to  another  older  and  wiser  than  himself  when  a  sum  is 
hard,  and  he  needs  help  in  doing  it,  so  should  Christians  endeavor 
to  find  counsel  and  suj^port  from  intercourse  with  their  fellow- 
saints.  A  brother  may  tell  you  something  you  never  knew  before, 
for  he  has  just  received  a  mercy  that  you  are  wanting,  and  the  way 
he  obtained  it  may  serve  as  a  direction  for  you.  Then  get  into 
the  peaceful  company  of  believers,  and  you  will  find  your  peace 
will  be  multiplied.  Do  not  lie  down  with  the  lion,  or  you  may 
learn  to  fight,  but  rest  beside  the  lamb,  and  peace  shall  abound. 
Love  also  begets  love,  and  in  the  fellowship  of  those  who  love  the 
Lord  you  will  derive  much  benefit  and  an  increase  to  your  love. 

But  the  very  best  way  is  to  go  to  the  Master.  If  the  sum  is 
difficult,  it  may  be  well  to  take  down  the  exercise-book  and  see 
the  examples  already  worked  out.  Study  God's  Word,  and  see  how 
mercy,  and  peace,  and  love  have  been  multiplied  to  others:  so 
shall  you  learn  the  way  to  have  your  own  multiplied.  If  you  can- 
not get  on  with  this  aid,  go  straight  away  to  the  Head-master. 
He  is  merciful.  He  is  full  of  mercy.  He  is  plenteous  in  mercy. 
Here,  then,  shall  you  find  a  way  out  of  your  difficulty.  If  you 
cannot  multiply,  He  will  do  it  for  you.     He  is  the  Prince  of  Peace: 


548  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

submit  yourself  to  His  gentle  reign,  and  peace  shall  be  yours. 
Dwell  in  the  atmosphere  of  His  love,  and  this  grace  shall  be  more 
and  more  in  you.  Thus,  Teacher  Divine,  help  Thy  scholars  to  rise 
and  make  progress  while  here  below,  until  it  shall  please  Thee  to 
call  us  home  for  the  holidays,  where  our  lessons  shall  be  at  an  end ; 
for  then  shall  we  enjoy  the  fulness  of  Thy  mercy,  the  sweetness  of 
Thy  peace,  and  the  bounties  of  Thy  love. 

ni.  Now  a  Slim  in  practice,  and  a  very  short  one  too.  Unto 
you  who  have  been  called,  sanctified,  and  preserved,  are  these 
words  of  exhortation  sent.  Be  merciful,  for  "  Blessed  are  the  mer- 
ciful, for  they  shall  obtain  mercy;  "  be  peaceful,  for  "  Blessed  are 
the  peacemakers,  for  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God ;  " 
be  loving,  for  "  Love  is  of  God,  and  every  one  that  loveth  is  born 
of  God,  and  knoweth  God."  Evermore  may  this  trinity  of  bless- 
ings abide  with  us :  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  which  is  from  everlast- 
ing to  everlasting,  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  understanding, 
and  the  love  of  God  which  passeth  knowledge,  for  His  name's 
sake.     Amen. 


SACRED    PENMANSHIP. 

SERMON    BY   C.    SPURGEON,    PASTOR   OF   SOUTH-STREET   CHAPEL,    GREENWICH. 

(Abridged from  skorihattd  notes.) 

"  Ye  are  our  epistle  written  in  our  hearts,  known  and  read  of  all  men  :  forasmuch 
as  ye  are  manifestly  declared  to  be  the  epistle  of  Christ  ministered  by  us,  written  not 
with  ink,  but  with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God;  not  in  tables  of  stone,  but  in  fleshy 
tables  of  the  heart."  —  2  CoR.  iii.  2,  3. 

"  Self-praise  is  no  recommendation,"  and  the  "  sounding  of 
one's  own  trumpet"  is  not  to  be  applauded.  The  apostle  must 
show  that  he  does  not  approve  of  such  a  method,  and  although  he 
was  in  a  position  to  boast  of  great  attainments,  yet  he  would  not 
glory  in  himself.  However,  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  be  charged  with 
arrogance,  and  that  which  he  most  carefully  avoided  was  brought 
ag-ainst  him  as  a  crime.     But  are  we  not  entitled  as  Christians  to 


CHARLES    SPURGEON.  549 

somewhat  of  boasting?  We  have  surely  a  glory  of  which  we  need 
not  be  ashamed.  As  "  children  of  God  "  we  possess  an  inheri- 
tance concerning  which  we  may  well  be  proud.  To  us  are  com- 
mitted the  "  oracles  of  God,"  and  we  still  hold  to  the  "  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints."  Ours  is  not  a  vain  glorying,  for  it  is  of 
God.  I  would  that  every  Christian  were  preaching  so  as  to  be 
heard  by  all  around,  not  in  the  pulpit,  but  in  the  home,  a  sermon 
in  which  he  made  the  cross  of  Christ  his  glory,  and  the  blood  of 
Christ  his  boast.  False  teachers  had  entered  into  the  Corinthian 
church,  and  they  had  found  it  necessary  to  have  letters  of  recom- 
mendation, but  Paul  needed  no  such  introduction.  Truth  and 
righteousness  recommend  themselves  in  the  work  they  accomplish. 
"  Good  wine  needs  no  bush,"  and  those  who  are  blessed  beneath  a 
faithful  minister  are  his  best  letters  of  commendation.  In  sending 
forth  the  seventy  our  Lord  did  not  give  each  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion, but  rather  endowed  each  with  power  to  do  good,  and  their 
works  and  words  were  to  stand  them  in  stead  thereof.  Paul's  con- 
verts were  his  epistles,  as  we  call  books  the  works  of  writers  now, 
and  these  were  put  down  as  the  apostle's  seals  to  his  ministry. 
Our  translation  admits  of  another  rendering,  namely,  "  Ye  are  our 
epistles  written  in  your  hearts,"  and  this  would  imply  that  Paul 
had  been  enabled  to  pencil  something  in  the  hearts  of  others  which 
could  be  read  by  all  men ;  and  it  is  with  this  idea  I  shall  deal  in 
speaking  about  sacred  penmanship. 

L  First,  observe  tJie  requisites  for  tvriting.  Figures  are  often 
used  to  set  forth  the  Christian  life,  and  none,  I  think,  does  so  more 
clearly  than  that  beneath  our  notice,  "  Ye  are  our  epistles!'  We 
are  likened  to  trees,  for  we  need  planting,  nurturing,  watering,  and 
pruning  before  we  can  bear  fruit;  stones,  for  there  has  been  the 
quarrying,  setting,  polishing,  and  building  wrought  upon  us  ;  lights, 
where  trimming  and  sustaining  is  so  much  required  to  render  us 
clear  and  bright;  and  now  epistles,  written  so  that  all  men  may 
read  us.  The  accessories  must  be  provided,  however,  for  a  letter 
to  be  written,  and  let  us  briefly  notice  these,  —  pen,  ink,  and 
paper. 

In  the  third  verse  we  have  the  pen :  "  Forasmuch  as  ye  are 
declared  to  be  the  epistle  of  Christ  ministered  by  us."     Here  is 


550  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

the  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God.  The  Church  was  divided,  for 
one  said,  "  I  am  of  Paul ;  "  another,  "  I  am  of  Cephas."  But  these 
good  men  were  only  ministers  by  whom  they  had  believed,  —  the 
pens  whereby  God,  through  His  Spirit,  had  written  upon  the 
fleshy  tables  of  their  hearts.  Among  these  instruments  there 
must  ever  be  a  variety.  The  rough  and  rude  can,  however,  be 
made  to  write  well.  Paul,  though  he  was  not  eloquent  of  speech, 
but  somewhat  blunt,  had  power  to  get  hold  of  men's  hearts;  and 
he  wrote  upon  them  with  dark,  indelible  lines,  great  truths.  But 
God  has  another  pen.  Apollos  could  speak  with  eloquence  of 
diction,  and  finely  pencil  the  Scripture,  so  that  the  Jews  were 
mightily  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.  John  was  another 
such  instrument.  Soft  in  love,  sketching  in  poetry  the  wonderful 
revelations  he  had  of  "  the  better  land,"  he  would  win  hearts  for 
Jesus.  Or  yet  again,  see  how  Peter  suits  the  bold,  round-hand 
writing  which  God  would  have  inscribed  upon  the  hard  tables  of 
Jewish  minds.  He  stands  forth  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of 
God  before  the  Sanhedrim,  the  murderers  of  Christ,  without  fear. 
Luke,  his  friend,  however,  is  the  pen  that  the  Spirit  uses  to  write 
the  small-hand  of  detail.  Thus  is  it  the  Master  uses  varied  tools 
to  inscribe  His  own  will  upon  men's  hearts.  O  Lord,  point  us, 
if  need  be,  with  cutting,  so  that  we  may  be  pens  in  Thy  hand  to 
write  upon  others'  hearts. 

Then  there  must  be  the  ink.  The  sacred  fluid  is  the  Spirit  of 
God.  "  Written  not  with  ink,  but  with  the  Spirit  of  the  living 
God."  The  mysterious  influence  that  flows  through  us  is  not  of 
earthly  manufacture.  It  is  the  pure  Spirit  of  the  living  God  ;  it 
never  mars  or  discolors,  but  adds  glory  to  the  heart  upon  which 
it  flows.  Words  penned  by  this  agency  shall  not  die,  for  the 
marks  of  grace  are  indelible,  it  being  the  Spirit  of  the  living 
God.  It  is  truly  an  invisible  ink,  but  when  held  to  the  fire  of 
divine  love  shall  become  apparent,  and  it  can  never  fade ;  a  non- 
corrosive  fluid,  and  yet  it  eats  its  way  into  men's  hearts.  What 
we  want  is  a  greater  measure  of  this  sacred  writing  power.  Pray 
that  the  Father  may  send  the  Spirit  upon  you  more  abundantly. 

The  next  requisite  is  the  paper.  It  is  not  written  upon  stone, 
but  "  in  fleshy  tables  of  the  heart."     The  law  may  be  pencilled 


CHARLES   SPURGEON.  55  I 

by  God's  finger  upon  stones,  but  His  love  must  be  written  upon 
the  tender  heart.  As  Matthew  Henry  quaintly  says :  "  Not  upon 
the  flesJily,  but  fleshy  tables."  That  heart  that  God  gives  best 
receives  God's  writing.  A  soft  heart  best  absorbs  the  ink ;  a  liv- 
ing tablet  best  retains  impressions.  How  is  it  with  your  heart, 
dear  hearer?  Has  God  ever  written  His  name  there?  Lay  bare 
the  page,  and  let  the  Lord  even  now  transcribe  words  of  love  and 
mercy  upon  it.  Are  you  willing  that  it  should  be  so?  Then  shall 
you  know  His  willingness,  for  He  says :  "  I  will  take  the  stony 
heart  out  of  their  flesh,  and  will  give  them  an  heart  of  flesh." 
Lord,  write  first  in  us,  and  then  make  us  as  the  "  pen  of  the  ready 
writer,"  to  make  our  mark  on  others. 

IL  Now  I  want  you  to  consider,  secondly,  tJie  readers  of  the 
writing.  "  Known  and  read  of  all  men."  The  writing  is  real,  no 
fiction,  for  the  author  is  Christ.  We  are  the  autograph  letters  of 
our  Lord,  and  bear  His  signature.  The  writing  is  clear,  for  we  are 
^^  manifestly  declared  to  be  the  epistle  of  Christ."  The  handwriting 
is  legible,  not  shaky  with  doubt;  no  forgery  through  unfaithful- 
ness, but  the  whole  plainly  penned  in  all  the  up-and-down  strokes. 
Now  this  document  is  a  public  one.  Believers  are  the  library  for 
the  world  ;  they  are  a  Christian  literature.  Each  saint  is  a  volume 
to  expound  the  grace  of  God.  "  Known  and  read  of  all  men." 
We  may  consider  the  readers  of  this  writing  to  be  of  three  classes, 
—  the  intelligent,  interested,  and  inquisitive.  Many  are  real  stu- 
dents of  Christian  character,  desirous  of  gaining  knowledge  for 
their  own  good  in  spiritual  attainments.  If  you  see  a  person  take 
down  a  book  in  a  hbrary,  you  soon  judge  whether  he  has  been 
accustomed  to  study  by  the  way  in  which  he  handles  the  volume ; 
and  so  there  are  those  who  carefully  review  every  syllable  of  a 
Christian's  life,  and  read  each  line  for  their  own  edification.  How 
anxious  should  we  be  to  help  such  students  by  our  example,  living 
near  unto  the  great  Exemplar. 

Then  there  are  the  interested  readers,  —  our  friends  who  like  to 
see  if  we  make  progress  in  divine  things.  The  "  first  series  "  of 
Christian  experiences  are  interesting,  and  are  studied  with  deep 
anxiety  by  those  who  love  young  converts.  The  pastor  reads  to 
find  out  if  such  are  increasing  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  growing 


552  LIFE    AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

in  grace,  getting  stronger  in  love,  and  taking  a  deeper  and  firmer 
hold  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ.  The  parent  reads  the  heart  of  the 
child,  anxiously  seeking  to  see  how  far  Christ's  character  is  spelled 
out  in  the  child's  life.  The  teacher  reads  the  scholar's,  the  friend 
the  acquaintance's,  the  master  the  servant's,  and  the  servant  the 
master's  too.  Let  us  seek  to  please  such  as  take  a  loving  interest 
in  us,  remembering  that  the  Lord  Himself  is  one  of  these  readers; 
so  may  we  strive  to  adorn  His  doctrine  in  all  things. 

The  last  class  I  have  called  the  inquisitive.  They  only  peruse 
to  find  fault.  They  look  at  the  Christian  character  through  smoky 
magnifying-glasses,  and  sometimes  they  turn  the  volume  upside 
down,  and  then  complain  that  it  is  all  a  big  mistake,  and  they  can- 
not make  it  out.  They  pick  out  that  which  the  follower  of  Jesus 
knows  full  well  to  be  a  flaw  himself,  and  then  ask  the  question, 
"  Is  this  like  a  Christian?  "  Beware,  dear  reader!  Be  careful,  for 
men's  eyes  are  always  ready  to  detect  a  failing.  Ours  must  be  so 
correct  an  epistle  that  fault-finders  shall  find  it  difficult  to  gratify 
their  morbid  taste.  The  schoolmaster  says  to  his  boys,  "  Be  sure 
"you  dot  your  i's  and  cross  your  t's ;  "  and  we,  too,  must  be  mind- 
ful of  little  things.  If  the  Spirit  of  God  has  written  upon  our 
hearts,  let  us  exhibit  that  epistle  in  our  lives,  so  that  we  may  be 
known  and  read  of  all  men  to  the  glory  of  our  God.     Amen. 


t 


Thomas  Spurgf.on 


XXXI. 

THOMAS   SPURGEON 

(SON    OF   PASTOR   C.    H.    SPURGEON.) 


Two  seeds  lie  before  us  :  the  one  is  warmed  in  the  sun,  the  other  falls  from 
the  sower's  hand  into  the  cold  dark  earth,  and  there  it  lies  buried  beneath  the 
soil.  That  seed  which  suns  itself  in  the  noontide  beam  may  rejoice  in  the  light 
in  which  it  basks,  but  it  is  liable  to  be  devoured  by  the  bird,  and  certainly 
nought  can  come  of  it,  however  long  it  may  linger  above  ground.  But  the  other 
seed,  hidden  beneath  the  clods  in  a  damp,  dark  sepulchre,  soon  swells,  germi- 
nates, bursts  its  sheath,  upheaves  the  mould,  springs  up  a  green  blade,  buds, 
blossoms,  becomes  a  flower,  exhales  perfume,  and  loads  the  wings  of  every 
wind.  Better  far  for  the  seed  to  pass  into  the  earth  and  die,  than  to  lie  in  the 
sunshine  and  produce  no  fruit.  And  even  thus  for  thee  the  future  in  its  sorrow 
shall  be  as  a  sowing  in  a  fertile  land;  tears  shall  moisten  thee,  grace  shall  in- 
crease within  thee,  and  thou  shalt  grow  up  in  the  likeness  of  thy  Lord  unto  per- 
fection of  holiness,  to  be  such  a  flower  of  God's  own  planting  as  even  angels 
shall  delight  to  gaze  upon  in  the  day  of  thy  transplanting  to  celestial  soil.  — 
C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


THOMAS  SPURGEON. 


THE  name  of  Mr.  Thomas  Spurgeon  has  become  widely  known 
to  readers  of  "  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel."  One  of  the  twin 
sons  of  the  famous  preacher,  he  is  developing  an  earnest  manhood, 
enriched  with  study,  experience,  travel,  and  observation. 

After  serving  some  time  to  an  engraver,  he,  like  his  brother 
Charles,  decided  to  give  his  life  to  preaching  the  gospel.  But  his 
delicate  health  forbade  his  remaining  in  England.  While  yet  quite 
young  he  sailed  to  Australia,  and  spent  one  year  in  evangelistic 
labors  there.  After  his  return  to  England  it  was  decided  that  he 
must  again  turn  his  back  on  "  home,  sweet  home,"  and  sail  once 
more  from  the  damp  climate  of  his  native  Isle  for  the  Antipodes. 
During  the  past  few  years  he  has  preached  in  many  places  in  that 
wonderful  country,  as  well  as  in  New  Zealand ;  and  finally  he  de- 
cided to  accept  the  pastorate  of  a  Baptist  church  in  Auckland, 
where  his   influence  is  already  becoming  widely  felt. 

Thomas  Spurgeon  has  proved  himself  "  a  worthy  son  of  a  worthy 
sire,"  and  the  quaintness  and  humor  of  "  John  Ploughman  "  have 
found  an  echo  in  "  Tom  the  Ploughboy."  Although  the  following 
letter,  giving  vent  to  the  gushing  ardor  of  an  affectionate  son 
poured  out  unreservedly  to  an  indulgent  father,  was  private  and 
personal,  yet  it  was  too  choice  a  morsel  to  withhold  from  the 
public. 

To  John  Ploughman, 

My  dear  Father,  —  I  am  so  glad  you  have  had  your  likeness 
taken  with  your  smock  on  and  the  big  whip  in  your  hand.  There 
are  ever  so  many  portraits   of  you   in  your  Sunday  go-to-meeting 


556  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

suit;  but  this  suits  you  best  of  all.  I  wish  you  could  have  got 
Dapper  and  Violet  into  the  picture.  All  your  friends  in  this  part 
of  the  world  are  glad  enough  to  hear  the  smack  of  your  whip  again. 
It  cracks  as  many  jokes  as  ever.  We  rejoice,  too,  that  the  sharp 
share  is  driven  through  the  monster  evil,  drink,  and  its  attendant 
vices.  "  God  speed  the  plough,"  we  pray,  when  it  roots  up  such 
ill  weeds. 

There  is  any  quantity  of  snakes  in  these  colonies,  and  men  either 
avoid  or  kill  them  ;  but  this  venomous  viper  they  cherish  and 
fondle  till  "  at  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an 
adder."  It  puzzles  me  why  those  who  know  and  admit  the 
danger  still  risk  it.  "  Once  bit,  twice  shy,"  does  n't  hold  good  in 
such  cases.  They  see  the  devil's  hook,  and  yet  grab  at  the  bait, 
and  drink  like  fish.  Why,  the  very  rooks  in  the  trees  might  teach 
them  a  lesson.  Let  them  but  see  a  gun,  and  off  they  fly;  indeed, 
conceal  the  weapon  as  you  may,  they  spy  it  out  somehow,  and 
take  to  themselves  wings,  not  waiting  to  hear  the  report,  or  give 
a  chance ;  but  these  black  birds  "  tarry  long  at  the  wine,"  and  "  go 
to  seek  mixed  wine."  They  love  to  get  within  range  of  the  Cannon 
Brewery  or  the  Gunner's  Arms,  and  are  willing  targets  for  a  shower 
of  grape  shot  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night.  What  wonder  that 
their  eyes  become  bloodshot,  and  that  they  themselves  are  "brought 
down  "  shattered  and  tattered  and  torn. 

As  to  public-houses  (hotels  they  call  them  here),  they  are  as 
thick  as  gum-trees  in  the  bush,  and,  though  Australia  is  free  from 
wild  beasts,  the  Red  Lion  does  a  roaring  trade.  And  the  stuff  the 
topers  swallow  is,  I  hear,  abominable,  especially  up  in  the  bush, 
where  folks  are  not  expected  to  be  over  particular.  If  all  the 
colonial  beer  and  spirits  were  of  the  best  quality,  the  harm  would 
not  be  quite  so  great;  but  such  mess  as  some  of  it  evidently  is 
must  mean  "  death  in  the  pot."  The  best  of  intoxicants  to  my 
mind  is  bad;  what  must  the  worst  be?  Would  to  God  the  cursed 
traffic  could  be  checked ;  a  host  of  crimes  would  then  be  stayed. 
Red  rum  spelled  backward  reads  "murder;"  gin,  the  dictionary 
says,  is  "  a  snare,"  and  every-day  facts  prove  it  so  to  be.  I  feel 
sure  that  the  "  cold-water  cure "  is  the  only  remedy.  Moder- 
ation goes  half-way,  and   therefore  fails.     Thank  God,  there  are 


THOMAS   SPURGEON.  557 

thousands  of  abstainers  amongst  us,  so  we  will  do  the  best  we  can, 
God  helping  us,  to  stem  the  tide. 

I  hear  readers  of  your  second  edition  comparing  your  last  fur- 
rows with  your  first.  Of  course  the  novelty  of  such  Plain  Talk 
is  not  so  keen,  but  the  pictures  are  deemed  a  great  improvement. 
Old  Humphrey  likes  pictures  as  well  as  little  Harry,  and  these  are 
first-raters  too.  You  remember  I  did  a  little  ploughing  on  box- 
wood once  on  a  time,  so  I  reckon  myself  a  bit  of  a  judge.  Here  's 
my  opinion,  if  it 's  worth  the  having.  Your  illustrations  seem  just 
to  fit  the  writing:  they  might  have  been  drawn  by  your  own 
horses,  so  handy  are  they  to  the  plough,  and  the  engravings  might 
be  cuts  of  your  own  whip. 

Many  a  good  laugh  I  've  had  over  some  of  your  quaint  sayings 
and  odd  rhymes.  They  seem  made  to  make  one  smile,  and  are 
more  powerful  than  laughing-gas.  This  is  the  beauty  of  the  book, 
to  my  mind.  I  like  a  mixture  of  pleasure  and  profit,  and  of  wit 
with  wisdom.  Just  a  drop  or  two  of  sauce  with  the  cold  mutton  is 
a  grand  improvement.  The  meat  is  good  enough  by  itself,  you 
know,  but  it  slips  down  sweeter  somehow  with  a  dash  of  "  relish." 
When  will  people  learn  the  absurdity  of  fancying  that,  because  we 
have  faith,  we  must  n't  have  any  fun?  I  believe  that  holiness  and 
humor  can  be  yoked  together,  and  pull  finely  too ;  and  I  can't 
bring  myself  to  believe  that  it  is  impossible  to  love  Jesus  and  have 
a  laugh  occasionally  into  the  bargain.  What  would  you  have 
done,  dear  father,  but  for  a  natural  merriment,  sanctified  by  grace? 
It  would  be  dreadful  hard  labor  to  be  always  ploughing  without 
whistling  a  tune  every  now  and  then,  and  having  a  hearty  laugh 
when  we  knock  off,  or  even  during  work.  The  plough  does  n't  go 
any  better  for  being  rusty,  and  the  pilgrim  is  n't  a  whit  fitter  for 
heaven  because  he  's  crusty. 

If  I  remember  rightly,  those  two  favored  evangelists  from  Amer- 
ica were  both  cheerful,  happy  men ;  but  I  often  think  it 's  a  good 
plan  if  I  feel  Moody  to  sing  Sankey,  and  let  solemnity  and  song 
blend  together.  If  I  should  feel  a  bit  down  at  any  time  I  mean  to 
have  another  look  at  your  pictures,  and  if  the  white  c%g  of  the 
black  hen,  or  the  fiddle  without  the  stick,  or  the  cart  before  the 
horse  don't  liven  me  up,  — well,  I  must  read  some  more.     Here  's 


558  LIFE   AND    LABORS    OF   C  H.    SPURGEON. 

a  receipt  for  melancholy  which  beats  half  the  tonics  and  enliveners 
"  all  to  pieces." 

If  you  're  down  in  the  dumps  or  given  to  grumble, 

If  things  go  awry  or  all  in  a  jumble, 

If  storms  should  grow  thicker  and  thunder-clouds  rumble. 

And  down  the  big  drops  like  cats  and  dogs  tumble. 

It 's  surely  no  good  to  murm.ur  and  mumble, 

Nor  yet  to  commence  to  flurry  and  fumble. 

Accept  my  advice,  nor  think  it  too  humble 

(I  give  it  to  all  you  good  gloomy  folks), 

Invest  in  a  volume  of  John  Ploughman's  jokes. 

I  am  often  asked  if  you  are  likely  ever  to  come  out  here.  Your 
horses  say  "  neigh,"  and  I  feel  obliged  to  return  the  same  answer. 
How  I  wish  you  could,  though !  What  rejoicing  there  would  be, 
and  how  the  people  would  flock  to  welcome  you  !  I  fancy  I  see 
even  the  kangaroos  hopping  down  to  town  to  hear  some  of  your 
"  plain  talk."  Will  you  ever  plough  the  South  Atlantic  ocean, 
think  you?  We 've  got  some  good  workers  here,  but  we  should 
all  be  the  better  for  a  look  at  your  way  of  doing  it,  and  a  specimen 
of  your  straight  furrow,  just  to  guide  us  a  bit. 

You  will  be  glad  to  hear  we  have  got  our  new  chapels  up  and 
opened.  Our  minister  calls  them  tabernacles,  after  yours.  Of 
course  they  're  not  quite  so  big.  A  good  deal  of  rough  ground 
has  been  broken  up :  now  we  can  go  in  more  readily  for  sowing 
and  reaping  a  crop  which  is  already  appearing.  I  think  of  going 
to  New  Zealand  shortly  to  turn  up  some  ground  that  is  new,  at 
least  to  me. 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  my  thoughts  often  fly  home.  I  have 
put  my  hand  to  a  colonial  plough,  but,  truth  to  tell,  I  constantly 
"  look  back,"  not  from  the  work,  but  across  the  deep  blue  sea  to 
"  hon>e,  sweet  home."  "  Every  bird  loves  its  own  nest,"  and  this 
"  seagull  "  is  no  exception. 

Give  my  love  to  dear  mother.  She  has  a  work  of  her  own,  and 
a  right  good  one  too ;  I  wish  all  were  as  well  employed  in  the 
field.  She  does  her  plough  share,  and  no  mistake;  the  Master 
help  her  in  it !  Brother  Charles  still  ploughs  at  Greenwich,  I  sup- 
pose.    There  's  plenty  of  ground  to  work  upon  there.     God  bless 


THOMAS    SPURGEON.  559 

him.      Remember  me   to  Will   Shepherd,   and   give   Dapper  and 
Violet  an  extra  feed  on  my  account. 

I  fear  I  've  kept  you  too  long  reading  this.  It  is  something  like 
stopping  the  plough  to  catch  a  mouse.  I  think  it 's  time  I  gave 
over;   so  God  be  wi'  ye,  and  fare  thee  well,  dear  fathei". 

Your  loving  son, 

Tom,  the  Ploughboy. 

Tasmania. 

The  ability,  zeal,  discrimination,  and  spirituality  of  Thomas 
Spurgeon  are  noticeable  in  the  following  series  of  articles  from 
his  pen.  We  also  append  a  striking  hymn,  which  is  a  sweet  strain 
worthy  of  our  best  vocal  powers. 

"HE   TOLD   US   NOTHING   NEW." 

Many  a  critic  praises  when  he  intends  to  censure.  The  man 
who  uttered  this  complaint  had  not  got  what  he  expected,  but 
the  fault  was  with  himself,  in  that  he  did  not  look  for  what  it  was 
the  preacher's  duty  to  supply.  Blame  from  certain  quarters  is  the 
highest  commendation.  The  fly  blamed  the  spider  for  spreading 
a  web  right  in  its  way,  and  thus  paid  an  unintentional  compliment 
to  the  skilful  fly-catcher.  The  nail  chided  the  hammer  for  hitting 
it  right  on  the  head,  and  indirectly  praised  the  stroke.  The  fish 
complained  that  the  bait  completely  hid  the  hook,  and  this  was 
one  to  the  fisherman.  Now  if  the  fly  and  the  nail  and  the  fish 
had  been  able  to  congratulate  one  another  on  escape  from  web 
and  stroke  and  hook,  spider  and  carpenter  and  fisherman  would 
not  have  shared  the  joy,  but  would  have  needed  to  look  to  their 
laurels  and  try  again.  This  case  is  somewhat  similar.  From  the 
son  of  a  great  preacher,  this  fault-finder  expected  to  receive  some- 
thing not  only  startling  in  delivery,  but  novel  as  to  matter. 

A  fellow-townsman  said  to  him  the  morning  after  the  evanfrel- 
istic  service,  "  Were  you  hearing  young  Spurgeon  last  night,  and 
what  did  you  think  of  him?  " 

"  Little  enough,"  he  answered.  "It  was  the  same  old  stuff.  He 
told  us   nothing    new."     The  reader  must  imagine  the   shrugged 


560  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON, 

shoulder  and  the  disappointed  look  which  accompanied  this 
lamentation.  Sorry  as  I  may  be  for  the  poor  man's  disappoint- 
ment, I  cannot  bring  myself  to  murmur  at  his  criticism.  I  gladly 
own  the  judgment  just.  There  could  be  no  credit  to  the  preacher 
of  the  gospel  if  men  who  were  by  no  means  strangers  to  the  truth 
exclaimed  in  rapturous  delight,  "  It  was  all  new  to  us;  we  never 
heard  such  things  before  !  "  Is  it  ours  to  be  ever  "  telling  some 
new  thing,"  tickling  the  ears  of  Athenians,  and  finding  food  for 
speculation  and  superstition?  I  thought  "the  old,  old  story"  was 
our  theme,  and  none  of  your  new-fangled  notions  and  startling 
novelties. 

What  this  malcontent  expected,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know.  The 
avowed  object  of  the  preacher  was  to  proclaim  the  gospel,  and 
the  promise  was  fulfilled.  He  certainly  had  a  gospel  text:  "This 
is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners ;  "  and  if  I  remember  rightly, 
the  sermon  stuck  to  the  text,  the  tune  was  in  the  same  key  as  the 
first  note. 

Had  the  platform  been  occupied  by  a  conjurer  whose  pro- 
gramme promised  a  succession  of  "  startling  novelties  "  and  "  real 
surprises,"  the  audience  would  have  done  right  in  grumbling  if 
these  were  not  forthcoming.  An  ordinary  show  of  sleight  of 
hand,  simple  card-tricks,  and  the  like,  would  not  satisfy  a  public 
whose  appetite  had  been  whetted  by  a  magniloquent  advertise- 
ment. Nothing  short  of  decapitating  an  obliging  attendant  and 
afterwards  restoring  his  headpiec'b,  or  the  production  of  live  turtle- 
doves from  a  magic  frying-pan,  could  be  reckoned  a  completion 
of  the  contract.  If  a  lecturer  or  concert-company  visited  the 
township  with  songs  or  subjects  said  to  be  "  entirely  new,"  the 
folks  might  ask  for  their  money  back  again  (I  do  not  say  they 
would  get  it),  if  all  they  heard  was  on  some  local  topic  from 
the  orator,  "  Nancy  Lee,"  or  "  Home,  sweet  Home,"  from  the 
songsters. 

But  in  this  particular  case  the  speaker  made  no  pretensions, 
charged  no  fee,  made  no  promises.  He  could  not  be  charged 
with  "  giving  out  that  himself  was  some  great  one."  He  did  not 
cause  a  trumpet  to  be  sounded  before  him,  nor  did  he  blow  his 


THOMAS   SPURGEON.  561 

own.  Passing  through  the  town,  he  consented  to  preach  the 
gospel  as  best  he  could,  and  though  weary  with  journeying,  he 
spoke  earnestly  about  the  way  "  from  death  unto  life."  No 
bargain  was  broken,  no  promise  forgotten. 

I  wonder  what  the  grumbler  looked  for?  Surely  he  could  never 
have  hoped  I  was  a  purveyor  of  such  misty,  mazy  doctrines  con- 
cerning the  creation,  Christ's  atonement,  and  future  punishment 
as  some  men  teach.  My  very  name  might  tell  him  differently; 
for  though  it  does  not  always  happen  (would  God  it  did!)  that 
sons  continue  in  their  sire's  holy  faith,  yet  hope  points  that  way, 
and  disappointment  generally  arises  in  cases  of  departure  rather 
than  in  instances  of  adherence.  Did  he  expect  me  to  introduce 
a  new  Saviour  to  the  township,  or  to  rear  some  ladder  to  the  skies 
such  as  he  had  dreamed  of  or  was  wishing  for?  If  so,  I  thank 
God  that  he  was  disappointed,  for  I  have  "  determined  not  to 
know  anything  among  men  save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 

Gladly  I  leave  others  to  preach  such  sermons  as  one  I  heard  of 
lately,  in  which  —  so  says  a  hearer  —  "the  most  comforting  truth 
was  the  fact  that  traces  of  the  human  race  have  been  discovered 
thousands  of  feet  beneath  the  earth's  surface."  Possibly  such  a 
statement  might  be  classed  under  the  head  of  "some  new  thing;" 
but  if  the  gospel  is  still  to  be  had,  we  say  "  The  old  is  better." 

That  "Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,"  is  the 
grandest  news  that  earth  can  ever  hear.  It  made  even  heaven 
rejoice,  though  our  gain  was  its  loss.  Was  it  not  to  this  glad  tune 
that  angels  sang  to  shepherds  on  the  Saviour's  birth-night?  Did 
not  the  eastern  sages  hail  with  joy  the  tidings  that  the  God-sent 
star  proclaimed?  And  this  same  news,  older  in  point  of  time,  but 
fresh  and  fragrant  still,  is  what  we  preach  ;  indeed,  our  news  is 
better,  for  we  can  tell  not  only  of  our  Redeemer's  advent,  but  of 
His  finished  work.  His  complete  sacrifice,  and  His  ceaseless  in- 
tercession. We  speak  not  of  the  manger  only,  but  of  the  cross, 
the  grave,  the  throne. 

Let  them  call  this  "  the  same  old  stuff,"  if  they  will.  We  take 
the  liberty  of  wresting  their  words  till  the  title,  contemptuous 
though  it  seems  to  be,  serves  as  a  glorious  motto.  Let  every 
pulpit  provide  "  the  same  old  stuff!  "     The  loaves  and  fishes  of 

36 


562  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

the  gospel  are  better  far  than  any  of  the  dainty  dishes  the  modern 
confectioners  of  the  Church  concoct.  But  let  it  not  be  thought 
that  when  we  glory  in  the  old  gospel  we  admit  it  is  not  news. 
Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  we  hold  that  the  charm  of  the  old 
truth  is  its  perennial  freshness.  It  renews  its  youth  "  like  the 
eagles."  In  some  quarters,  they  tell  us  it  is  worn  out  and  thread- 
bare. 

The  correspondent  of  a  New  Zealand  paper,  when  writing  the 
other  day  from  America,  said  that  in  that  country  the  old-fash- 
ioned theology  was  "  played  out."  This  startling  intelligence  was 
followed  by  an  insinuation,  in  language  which  I  do  not  care  to  quote, 
that  the  departure  of  some  from  sound  Scriptural  views  argues  a 
general  decay  and  failure  of  our  holy  faith.  Because  some  remove 
the  aiicient  landmarks,  he  would  have  it  that  all  are  on  the  eve  of 
changing  their  minds,  recanting  their  faith,  and  striking  their  col- 
ors. The  wish,  I  presume,  is  father  to  the  thought.  Such  writers 
—  who,  by  the  way,  are  far  more  at  home  when  writing  of  some 
notable  scandal  or  political  sensation — would  make  us  swallow 
their  persuasion  that  our  sires  have  been  mistaken,  and  that  we 
have  shared  their  folly ;  that  the  faith  for  which  martyrs  blazed 
and  heroes  bled  —  the  faith  in  which  Christians  lived  trustingly  and 
died  triumphantly  —  is  a  delusion  and  a  lie.  They  would  have 
us  fling  overboard  the  treasure  that  has  been  to  us  both  ballast 
and  cargo  so  long;  and  what  are  they  going  to  give  us  instead 
thereof  ?  They  would  load  us,  like  the  silt  boats,  with  mud  and 
mire  w^hich  they  have  dredged  from  their  own  imaginations,  — 
"  primordial  slime,"  or  some  such  stuff! 

The  fact  is,  that  for  those  who  are  content  to  relinquish  "  the  old, 
old  story,"  there  is  every  provision  made  in  order  to  supply  the 
vacuum.  There  is  a  charming  variety  of  substitutes  to  select  from. 
As  saith  the  showman,  "  Whichever  you  please,  my  little  dears ; 
you  pays  your  money  and  you  takes  your  choice !  "  Here  is  a 
peep-hole,  with  a  view  of  "  final  restoration."  Another  presents  a 
scene  in  which  certain  learned  divines,  armed  with  hose,  are  play- 
ing jets  of  water  on  the  flames  of  hell  and  putting  them  out  (in 
the  picture).  Directions  for  looking  through  this  hole  are  to 
the  effect  that  you  must  keep  one  eye  shut  and  not  look  out  of 


THOMAS   SPURGEON.  cg^ 

the  Other;  for  who  but  the  blind  can  fail  to  see  unquenchable 
fire  even  in  Christ's  teaching?  Should  you  wish  to  change  your 
views,  you  can  be  obliged  with  a  glance  through  peep-holes  la- 
belled "  Conditional  Immortality,"  "  Cleansing  Fires,"  or  "  Anni- 
hilation." Dropping  the  figure,  you  can  find  some  to  assure 
you  that  you  will  die  like  a  dog,  or  an  ass,  if  such  a  doctrine 
pleases  you  ;  you  can  get  a  purgatory  without  going  to  Rome  for 
it,  and  annihilation,  or  something  very  like  it,  from  professing 
Christians. 

Does  some  one  remind  me  that  these  things  are  by  no  means 
new,  —  that  these  views  have  been  held  in  some  shape  or  form  for 
years?  I  admit  it;  but  are  they  not  new,  after  all,  in  comparison 
with  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God?  Who  knows  when  "the 
wondrous  plan  "  was  first  contrived  ? 

The  Lamb,  whose  blood  still  cleanses  us,  was  "  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  The  first  gospel  sermon  was  preached 
as  soon  as  Adam  fell,  when  God  the  Father  promised  that  the 
woman's  seed  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  All  else  is  new 
when  we  talk  of  God's  love  to  rebel  men:  and  yet,  old  as  this 
gospel  is,  its  power  remains  as  fresh  and  forceful  as  ever.  "Played 
out,"  indeed  !  What  means  the  scribe?  We  may  believe  it  when 
an  angel  tells  us  so,  and  God  admits  it.  Is  this  penny-a-liner  also 
among  the  prophets? 

Just  now  God  is  telling  us  plainly,  the  world  over,  that  His  arm 
IS  not  shortened  that  it  cannot  save;  and  what  is  His  instrument 
but  the  tale  of  Calvary,  the  old-fashioned  theology?  Is  the  "faith- 
ful saying"  no  longer  true  and  "worthy  of  all  acceptation?" 
Has  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  "  had  its  day,  like  the  crowd  of 
short-hved  dogmas  which  have  barked  against  it  ?  Has  the  frin-e 
of  Jesus' garment  ceased  to  respond  with  "  virtue  "  to  the  touch 
of  faith? 

When  Christ  uplifted  fails  to  draw;  when  the  fount,  once 
opened  for  sin  and  all  uncleanness,  is  "a  spring  shut  up,  a  foun- 
tam  sealed;  "  when  Jesus  gives  up  pleading  and  the  Spirit  ceases 
stnvmg;  when  angels  have  no  repenting  sinners  to  sing  about 
we  may  look  for  a  newer  and  a  better  gospel:  then  we  may  take' 
up  another  sword  and  wear  another  badge;   but 


564  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

"  Till  then,  —  nor  is  our  boasting  vain,  — 
Till  then  we  '11  preach  a  Saviour  slain  ; 
And  oh,  may  this  our  glory  be. 
The  truth  of  Christ  still  makes  men  free." 

A  word  to  those  who  read  this  paper,  not  having  yet  accepted 
for  themselves  the  Christ  we  speak  of.  Dear  friends,  you  have  a 
reverence  for  the  "  old  story  "  which  my  critic  did  not  possess. 
Possibly  you  have  got  "so  near  to  the  kingdom"  as  to  know  that 

"  None  but  Jesus  can  do  helpless  sinners  good." 

Still  you  have  not  made  Jesus  yours.  Have  you  grown  gospel- 
hardened?  Have  you  built  your  nest  so  long  in  the  belfry  that 
the  bells  are  scarcely  heard?  Are  the  terrible  knells  which  speak 
of  death  and  judgment,  and  the  merry  chime  which  calls  to  mercy, 
alike  unheeded?  Do  not  ask  for  a  new  gospel,  —  seek  a  new 
heart.  God  Himself  cannot  provide  any  other  salvation  than  that 
which  Christ  has  wrought.  Is  it  too  simple,  too  easy,  too  readily 
understood? 

If  these  are  the  faults  you  find,  be  sure  they  cannot  be  altered, 
but  you  can  and  must  be  changed ;  for  "  except  ye  be  converted, 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  God  give  you  grace  enough,  and  humility  enough, 
to  enable  you  to  accept  the  simple  truth,  that  you  may  not  be 
"  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ :  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 


"HE'S   NOT   A   BIT   LIKE   A  PARSON." 

Such  was  the  remarkable  encomium  passed  by  a  sick  man  on  a 
Christian  minister  by  whom  he  had  been  visited.  Just  as  sparkling 
little  nuggets  of  pure  gold  are  found  imbedded  in  the  hard  and 
rugged  quartz,  so  in  that  rough-hewn  sentence  there  nestles  the 
sincerest  praise,  unmixed  with  the  alloy  of  flattery  which  many  a 
polished  phrase  contains. 

Although  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  author  of  this  eulogium  had 


THOMAS  SPURGEON.  565 

very  little  sympathy  with  religion  and  its  professed  promoters,  I 
scarcely  think  he  intended  so  wholesale  a  condemnation  of  "  the 
cloth  "  as  might  be  inferred  from  his  .curious  criticism.  It  is  just 
possible  that  the  sick  man  had  been  visited  by  some  ecclesi- 
astic whose  parsonic  importance  had  irritated  him.  No  lover 
of  religion  himself,  he  would  not  be  too  ready  to  cherish  a  liking 
for  a  professional  religionist.  Used  to  scoff  and  jeer  at  holy 
things  when  up  and  well,  he  did  not  relish  parsonic  visits  during 
sickness.  Perhaps  it  seemed  like  taking  undue  advantage  of  him. 
Anything  of  a  priestly  style  would,  of  course,  go  against  his  grain. 
He  would  readily  become  suspicious,  and,  determined  not  to  swal- 
low any  pious  pills,  he  would  not  hesitate  to  make  the  visitor 
aware  that  his  room  was  preferred  to  his  company.  The  Christian 
minister  who  seeks  to  reach  such  a  character  as  this  needs  wisdom 
that  Cometh  from  above.  The  door  of  such  a  heart  seems  closed 
to  priests  and  parsons.  Officialism  may  give  as  many  impressive 
knocks  as  it  pleases,  with  nothing  but  the  echo  of  its  own  raps  as 
response.  The  very  sight  of  a  white  choker  and  a  long  black  coat 
to  such  a  man  as  this  will,  so  to  speak,  make  the  snail  pull  in  his 
horns  and  shrink  into  his  shell,  or,  to  use  another  metaphor,  it  lifts 
the  drawbridge  of  the  soul  and  makes  it  quite  impregnable. 

Sanctimoniousness,  too,  will  work  as  much  evil  as  starchiness. 
If  the  voice  be  twangy,  or  if  the  eyes  roll  after  "  dying-duck  "  and 
"thunder-storm"  fashion,  the  sick  scoffer  is  sure  to  notice  it  and 
to  exaggerate  it  too.  His  eyes  become  magnifying-glasses,  and 
his  ears  microphones.  He  sees  rolling  eyes  without  number,  and 
hears  cant  phrases  to  any  amount.  He  hates  them  all,  and  does 
not  love  the  man  who  owns  the  rotating  optics  and  speaks  with 
what  the  scorner  calls  "  the  Bible  twang."  Should  the  parson 
begin  to  talk  on  some  subject  less  grave  and  solemn,  in  the  hope 
that  he  may  find  a  back  entrance  or  a  side  door  by  and  by,  he  is  no 
more  successful.  The  visit  is  essentially  parsonic.  The  patient  is 
not  strong  enough  to  scoff  or  argue,  and  therefore  wishes  "  his 
reverence  "  gone.  And  "  his  reverence  "  might  as  well  go.  Well 
meaning  he  may  have  been,  but  he  went  about  a  right  action  in  a 
wrong  way,  and  spoiled  it  all.  Style  and  starch  and  stiffness  are 
bad  enough  in  the  drawing-room  and  parlor ;  they  are  worse  in  the 


566  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

pulpit;  but  worst  of  all  beside  a  sick  bed  and  with  an  unbeliever. 
If  that  scoffer  is  to  be  won  for  Jesus,  —  and  during  illness  is  a  hope- 
ful time, —  the  attempt  must  be  made  cautiously,  considerately, 
and  prayerfully. 

Our  non-parsonic  brother  visited  him.  Of  course  he  was  an  en- 
tire stranger,  for  never  had  the  invalid  attended  his  services.  The 
bar  (not  legal)  was  the  sick  man's  particular  shrine,  and  Bacchus 
his  patron  saint  (?).  It  was  a  far  better  "spec"  to  his  mind  to 
spend  his  threepennies  on  beer  than  to  put  them  into  the  collection- 
plate.  He  used  to  chaff  his  neighbors  as  they  went  to  meeting, 
and  asked  if  they  were  "  going  to  give  another  threepenny,"  Being 
a  good-humored  fellow,  he  would  seldom  do  more  than  banter 
Christians  about  their  fajth ;  but  his  enmity  to  religion  was  by  no 
means  concealed  by  his  jokes  and  jeers.  A  life  of  evil  proclaimed 
aloud  the  deep-seated  hatred  in  his  heart  to  holiness  and  God. 

What  will  he  say  to  our  dissenting  friend,  who  sports  no  snowy 
choker,  and  whose  coat  and  hat  are  neither  longer  in  the  tail  nor 
broader  in  the  brim  than  those  worn  by  ordinary  folks?  He  will 
look  in  vain  for  a  priestly  or  professional  style  with  this  visitor, 
who  enters  in  a  free  and  homely  way,  shakes  hands  heartily  yet 
tenderly,  and  storms  the  castle  by  the  very  first  cannonade  of 
kindliness  and  fraternity.  We  are  not  permitted  to  know  all  that 
was  said  and   done,   but  we  learn    afterwards   that  the  sick  man 

remarked  to   a  friend  of  his,  "  What  a  nice  fellow  Mr. is. 

He  came  to  see  me  just  now,  and  talked  and  prayed  with  me.  I 
did  n't  want  to  let  him  go.  I  never  knew  any  one  speak  so  kindly 
to  me  ;   quite  brotherly  he  was,  and  not  a  bit  like  a  parson  !  " 

Well  done,  thou  man  of  God  !  The  common  people  hear  thee 
gladly,  so  thou  hast  somewhat  of  thy  Master's  manner  with  thee. 
What  though  no  holy  ( ?)  hands  have  blessed  thy  head,  and  thou 
art  not  recognized  a  member  of  the  line  that  comes  direct  from 
Paul  and  Peter,  thy  heart  has  been  touched  by  a  Saviour's  pierced 
hand,  and  apostolic  success  is  more  to  be  desired  than  apostolic 
succession. 

My  readers  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  this  visit  was  not 
the  last,  and  that  each  succeeding  one  was  doubly  welcome.  They 
will  rejoice  to  hear  that  the  sick  man  was  restored,  and  that,  best  of 


THOMAS    SPURGEON.  567 

all,  "  the  plague  of  his  heart "  was  cured.  Of  course  he  worshipped 
in  the  plain-built  tabernacle,  and  heard  the  non-parsonic  preacher; 
and  never  did  I  see  a  more  attentive  listener,  nor  ever  catch  a  face 
amongst  the  auditors  more  helpful  and  inspiring  to  the  preacher. 
Of  course  Bacchus  did  not  profit  by  this  change,  and  his  priests 
were  greatly  angered.  Of  course  the  collection-plate  was  the 
richer  by  considerably  more  than  a  threepenny-piece,  and  the 
quondam  scoffer  counted  it  an  honor  to  be  ridiculed  for  Jesus' 
sake. 

What  was  it  brought  this  man  round,  and  turned  the  current 
of  his  life?  "The  grace  and  power  of  God,"  says  one.  Truly; 
nothing  else  could  accomplish  it.  But  what  was  instrumental? 
"The  sickness,"  say  you.  Yes,  in  part;  but  the  directest  influ- 
ence was  the  kindly  manner  and  Christ-like  conversation  of  his 
visitor;  and  being  "not  a  bit  like  a  parson,"  had  not  a  little  to 
do  with  snatching  the  brand  from  the  burning.  Oh,  for  a  heart 
to  feel  for  other  hearts,  and  beat  in  unison  with  them !  The  chan- 
nel to  the  souls  of  men  is  intricate  indeed ;  we  need  a  heavenly 
pilot  to  teach  us  how  to  steer.  Above  all  things,  we  must  avoid 
a  patronizing,  condescending  style  when  visiting  the  poor  and 
sick.  It  is  possible  to  descend  without  seeming  to  do  so,  and  to 
rise  again  as  imperceptibly.  Christ-like  humility  is  quite  compat- 
ible with  Christian  dignity.  We  should  do  gracious  actions  with 
a  good  grace,  or  the  acts  are  spoiled.  The  choicest  viands  should 
be  nicely  served.  Some  give  their  alms  as  they  would  throw  buns 
to  the  bears  at  the  Zoo,  more  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them  feed 
than  anything  else.  Lady  Superior  leaves  some  food  and  money 
with  the  poor  cottagers,  who,  needy  as  they  are,  sadly  miss  the 
kind  words  which  should  have  accompanied  the  gift.  How  much 
sweeter  the  provisions  would  have  tasted  had  the  bread  been 
buttered  with  a  smile,  and  the  basket  lined  with  Christian  love. 
Thank  God,  there  are  some  parsons,  and  parsons'  wives  too,  who 
are  veritable  angels  of  mercy.  Like  nightingales,  they  fly  into 
the  solitary  shades,  and  'midst  the  gloom  of  woe  and  poverty  pour 
out  the  melody  of  gracious  words  and  holy  deeds.  But  wherein 
lies  the  secret  of  their  success?  Is  it  so  much  in  what  they  say 
and  -do  and  give,  as  in  how  it  is  said  and  done  and  given  ?    Apples 


568  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

of  gold  are  all  the  better  for  being  in  pictures  of  silver,  and  "  d 
word  spoken  in  due  season,  how  good  is  it !  "  We  should  go  lo 
the  poor  and  suffering,  remembering  that  a  kind  providence  alone 
has  made  us  to  differ,  earnestly  desiring  their  spiritual  welfare,  and 
acting  and  speaking  as  humbly  and  naturally  as  possible.  And 
when  we  come  to  pray  with  such,  we  need  especial  grace,  lest  it 
should  be  a  matter  of  mere  routine  or  course. 

I  heard  of  a  parson  lately  who  visited  a  poor  man  supposed  to 
be  dying.  While  this  spiritual  adviser  was  with  the  invalid,  his 
wife  intimated  her  intention  of  slipping  off  to  the  neighboring 
township  to  buy  some  candles.  The  evening  drew  on  apace, — 
indeed  it  was  getting  dark  when  the  interview  began.  After  a 
little  very  ordinary  conversation,  the  "  clerk  in  holy  orders  "  pro- 
ceeded to  say  "  Farewell,"  and  added,  as  he  took  the  wasted  hand 
of  his  parishioner,  "  I  would  have  prayed  with  you,  my  friend,  but 
your  wife  is  such  a  time  fetching  the  candles,  and  I  cannot  wait." 
Would  you  believe  it?  His  precious  book  of  prayers  was  abso- 
lutely necessary ;  it  was  too  dark  to  read,  and  therefore  devotion 
was  impossible  !  Thanks  be  to  the  darkness  then,  and  blest  be 
the  evening  shade  that  put  their  veto  on  such  absurd  formality, 
and  spared  the  dying  man  the  mockery  of  being  prayed  for  from 
a  book. 

Hearty  prayer  is  the  only  sort  that  can  be  acceptable  at  such  a 
time,  either  to  the  sufferer  for  whom  it  is  offered,  or  to  the  Prayer- 
Hearer  to  whom  it  is  presented.  "  Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray," 
especially  when  we  kneel  beside  the  couch  of  the  dying,  or  in  the 
houses  of  the  poor !  As  a  relieving  contrast  to  so  sad  a  case,  I 
cannot  refrain  from  telling  of  how  another  colonial  parson  went 
about  doing  good.  The  story  runs  that  he  was  stopped  by  a  gen- 
tleman in  blue  at  dead  of  night  while  in  the  act  of  carrying  a  great 
roll  of  blankets  down  the  street.  When  challenged  by  the  officer, 
he  simply  said,  "  It 's  all  right,"  and  attempted  to  proceed.  "No," 
said  Robert,  "  you  don't  get  over  me  so  easy  as  all  that,"  And  not 
until  the  lantern  light  flashed  on  the  supposed  robber's  face,  and 
revealed  the  countenance  of  a  well-known  ecclesiastical  dignitary, 
was  the  watchman  of  the  night  content  to  let  the  blanket-bearer 
"  move  on." 


THOMAS   SPURGEON.  569 

During  the  day  this  reverend  gentleman  had  found  out  a  neces- 
sitous case,  and  promised  covering  and  clothing;  but,  what  with 
other  calls  and  business,  he  had  forgotten  his  morning  promise. 
But  when  he  himself  retired  to  rest,  and  gladly  wrapped  himself 
in  thick,  warm  coverlets  (for  the  night  was  cold),  he  bethought 
him  of  the  needy  ones,  and,  regardless  of  his  own  comfort,  hur- 
ried out  into  the  keen  night  air  to  perform  his  labor  of  love.  No 
wonder  such  a  man  is  honored  and  beloved,  although,  if  we  may 
judge  from  this  incident,  "  he  's  not  a  bit  like  a  parson,"  Cannot 
we  "  go  and  do  likewise?  "  We  are  all  priests  and  ministers  if  we 
are  God's  children ;  and  since  it  appears  that  a  professional  style 
and  clergy  cut  are  not  helpful  in  winning  the  ears  and  hearts  of 
men,  may  not  the  humblest  and  lowliest  look  the  more  confidently 
for  success  in  telling  of  the  Saviour's  love  to  the  poor  and  needy? 

As  for  those  Christians  who  are  supposed  to  occupy  a  higher 
position  in  society,  the  religion  of  Jesus  has  done  but  little  for 
them  if  it  does  not  make  them  remember  that  "  the  rich  and  poor 
meet  together :   the  Lord  is  the  maker  of  them  all." 

Christ's  example  and  teaching  both  tell  us  that  the  art  of  reach- 
ing men  is  to  be  men.  We  can  do  angels'  work  without  soaring 
aloft  on  angels'  wings  and  looking  down  on  everybody  else.  We 
must  stoop  to  conquer,  —  indeed,  no  action  done  for  Jesus  involves 
a  stoop.     "  He  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 

"  Lord,  for  ever  at  Tliy  side 

May  my  place,  my  portion  be  ; 
Strip  me  of  the  robe  of  pride, 
Clothe  me  with  humility." 


"JESUS   FOR   ME!" 

The  old  man  was  very  deaf,  so  he  sat  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
platform.  During  service  he  appeared  happy  and  interested,  so  I 
asked  him,  when  all  was  over,  how  he  heard  this  time.  Said  he, 
"  I  got  on  better  to-day " ;  and  he  seemed  so  glad  that  I  half 
hoped  he  had  heard  most  of  the  sermon.     "  Well,  how  much  of  it 


570  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

did  you  manage  to  catch?"  I  asked.  He  replied,  "Only  three 
words,  but  they  were  good  ones,  —  '  Jesus  for  me  !  '  "  This  inci- 
dent has  suggested  the  following  lines :  — 

A  floweret  bloomed  in  valley  land, 

It  drank  soft  dews  by  night, 
The  summer  zephyr  wafted  it. 

But  still  it  pined  for  light. 
It  said  (you  could  not  hear,  but  see). 
With  scent-cup  drooping  helplessly, 
"  Sunshine  for  me  !     Sunshine  for  me  !  " 

O  Jesus!  light  of  earth  and  heaven  ! 

Shine  on  my  darkened  soul  ; 
Rise  on  me,  with  Thy  healing  wings 

Restore  and  make  me  whole  : 
The  balm  of  Gilead  is  in  Thee, 
Go  —  creature  aid  and  sympathy. 
Jesus  for  me  !     Jesus  for  me  ! 


A  helpless,  broken,  bleating  lamb 

Lay  in  the  deep  ravine, 
And  blood-spots  marked  the  dangerous  way 

The  wanderer  had  been : 
It  said  —  with  every  wound  a  plea  — 
"  Have  pity  on  my  misery, 
The  fold  for  me,  the  fold  for  me." 

O  Jesus  !  Bishop  of  my  soul  ! 

I'  m  weary,  wandering,  cold  ; 
Come  'cross, the  hills  to  bear  me  back  ; 

Replace  me  in  Thy  fold  : 
My  soul  restore,  my  Shepherd  be. 
Who  is  a  pardoning  God  like  Thee  ? 
Jesus  for  me  !     Jesus  for  me  ! 


A  sea-bird  circled  round  the  ship, 

Then  lighted  on  a  spar  ; 
One  tried  to  make  it  prisoner,  — 

It  swiftly  flew  afar. 
And  screamed,  in  flying,  "  Wings  are  free, 
For  sea-fowls  must  have  liberty. 
Ocean  for  me  !     Ocean  for  me  !  " 


THOMAS    SPURGEON.  57 1 

O  Jesus  !     Blest  Deliverer  ! 

Since  Thou  hast  burst  my  bands, 
My  faith-winged  heart  cannot  be  held 

By  any  sinful  hands  : 
If  free  indeed,  I  '11  evil  flee, 
Thy  boundless  love  shall  be  my  sea. 
Jesus  for  me !     Jesus  for  me  ! 


A  spark  flew  upward  from  the  fire, 
Seeking  the  sun's  bright  glow  ; 

The  parent  claimed  its  tiny  child, 
And  it  rejoiced  to  go  :  , 

And  said  in  tones  of  sparkling  glee, 

As  up  it  sped  obediently, 

"  The  sun  for  me  !     The  sun  for  me  !  " 

0  Jesus  !     Sun  of  righteousness  ! 
May  I  not  rise  as  well  ? 

May  I  not  live  and  move  in  Thee  ? 
May  I  not  with  Thee  dwell  ? 

1  love,  for  Thou  hast  loved  me  : 
The  spark  of  love  flies  back  to  Thee. 
Jesus  for  me  !     Jesus  for  me  ! 


A  matron  hasteth  back  to  home, 

The  villagers  all  greet ; 
They  bring  her  tokens  of  their  love. 

And  waken  music  sweet  ; 
Yet  satisfied  she  cannot  be  : 
"  My  lord,"  she  says,  "  I  long  to  see  ; 
My  spouse  for  me,  my  spouse  for  me." 

O  Jesus  !  Husband  !  Once  in  heaven, 
Nor  harps  nor  crowns  afford 

One  half  the  joy  this  hope  can  bring,  -~ 
"  For  ever  with  the  Lord." 

"  Amen  !  "  say  I,  "  so  let  it  be, 

In  time  and  through  eternity. 

Jesus  for  me  !    Jesus  for  me  !  " 


572  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF  C.   H.    SPURGEON. 


THE   HOLY  GHOST  IS  HERE. 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  here, 
Where  saints  in  prayer  agree  ; 
As  Jesu's  parting  gift,  He  's  near 
Each  pleading  company. 

Not  far  away  is  He, 
To  be  by  prayer  brought  nigh, 
But  here  in  present  majesty, 
As  in  His  courts  on  high. 

He  dwells  within  our  soul, 
An  ever-welcome  Guest ; 
He  reigns  witli  absolute  control 
As  Monarch  in  the  breast. 

Our  bodies  are  His  shrine, 
And  He  th'  indwelling  Lord. 
All  hail,  thou  Comforter  divine. 
Be  evermore  adored ! 

Obedient  to  Thy  will, 
We  wait  to  feel  Thy  power ! 
O  Lord  of  life,  our  hopes  fulfil. 
And  bless  this  hallowed  hour  ! 


C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


XXXII. 
SERMONS. 


As  to  serving  the  Lord  with  cold  hearts  and  drowsy  souls,  there  has  been 
too  much  of  it;  and  it  causes  religion  to  wither.  Men  ride  stags  when  they 
hunt  for  gain,  and  snails  when  they  are  on  the  road  to  heaven.  Preachers  go 
on  seesawing,  droning,  and  prosing,  and  the  people  fall  to  yawning  and  folding 
their  arms,  and  then  say  that  God  is  withholding  His  blessing.  Every  sluggard, 
when  he  finds  himself  enlisted  in  the  ragged  regiment,  blames  his  luck,  and 
some  churches  have  learned  the  same  wicked  trick.  I  believe  that  when  Paul 
plants  and  Apollos  waters,  God  gives  the  increase  ;  and  I  have  no  patience 
with  those  who  throw  the  blame  on  God,  when  it  belongs  to  themselves.  — 
C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


SERMONS. 


OUR  book  would  be  incomplete  without  a  selection  from  the 
sermons  of  Mr.  Spurgeon.  But  here  we  confess  to  a  diffi- 
culty; our  heart  would  prompt  their  publication  wholesale,  but 
our  limited  pages  can  carry  only  little  of  this  precious  freight. 
The  literary  merit  which  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  possess  is  a 
minor  consideration.  Their  strong  and  pure  doctrine,  scriptural 
teaching,  earnest,  loving  persuasion,  exaltation  of  Jesus  as  Lord, 
and  clear  gospel  exposition  render  them  priceless  to  the  appre- 
ciative hearer  and  reader. 

But  though  we  cannot  here  reproduce  their  golden  sound,  we 
are  consoled  with  the  reflection  that  nearly  two  thousand  pub- 
lished discourses,  lectures,  and  addresses  of  this  indefatigable 
preacher  may  be  had  through  the  publishing  and  importing  houses 
of  the  country. 

And  here  we  would  remark,  that  it  augurs  well  for  our  faith 
that  an  enterprising  house  is  now  publishing,  with  Pastor  Spur- 
geon's approval,  his  grand  commentary  on  the  Psalms,  "The 
Treasury  of  David,"  ^  the  greatest  literary  effort  of  his  life.  In 
justice  to  this  splendid  and  much-needed  work,  of  several  volumes, 
we  would  not  mar  its  value  by  extracts,  which  would  necessarily 
be  brief  and  unsatisfactory. 

The  two  following  sermons  were  preached  by  Mr.  Spurgeon 
in  his  twenty-first  year  to  immense  congregations  in  Exeter  Hall. 
Since  that  date  many  have  departed  "  from  the  faith,  giving  heed 
to  seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  devils ;  "  philosophizing 
teachers  have  arisen  who  in  the  name  of  charity  cry  smooth 
1  Funk  &  Wagnalls,  New  York.     $2.00  per  volume. 


57^  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.   SPURGEON. 

things,  and  very  ?^;/charitably  give  away  what  is  not  their  own, 
namely,  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  absolute 
Deity  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  our  sturdy  preacher  has  not  drifted 
with  the  age.  To-day  he  preaches  the  Living  Oracles  with  added 
strength  and  ripened  experience.  Style  and  language  may  have 
undergone  modifications,  but  his  charming  voice  still  rings  with 
no  uncertain  sound,  and  his  sermons  are  ever  saturated  with 
Bible  teaching.  His  testimony  is  a  constant  protest  against  the 
insipid  rationalizing  of  apostate  preachers.  Thank  God,  many  are 
with  him  who  reverence  the  Bible  and  hold  to  "  the  faitli  once 
delivered  to  the  saints."  Such  will  win  in  the  end ;  for  when  the 
flattery  of  fools  shall  melt  away,  and  compromising  ministers  who 
bend  to  the  times  like  a  nose  of  wax  shall  receive  the  due  rewards 
of  their  deeds,  these  true  witnesses  for  God  shall  abide  in  the  favor 
of  their  Lord.  And  who  can  number  the  many  timid  disciples 
whose  hearts  have  been  stirred  and  whose  faith  has  been  embold- 
ened by  the  precious  example  of  England's  faithful  preacher?  To 
the  matchless  grace  of  God  let  it  be  ascribed  that  many  arise  and 
call  him  blessed. 


THE     BIBLE. 

A   SERMON,    DELIVERED    ON   MARCH    I S,    1855,    BY    PASTOR   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

"I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things  of  My  law,  but  they  were  counted  as  a 
strange  thing."  —  Hosea  viii.  12.  ;_   .         ; 

This  is  God's  complaint  against  Ephraim.  It  is  no  mean  proof 
of  His  goodness  that  He  stoops  to  rebuke  His  erring  creatures;  it 
is  a  great  argument  of  His  gracious  disposition  that  He  bows  His 
head  to  notice  terrestrial  affairs.  He  might,  if  He  pleased,  wrap 
Himself  with  night  as  with  a  garment;  He  might  put  the  stars 
around  His  wrist  for  bracelets,  and  bind  the  suns  around  His  brow 
for  a  coronet;  He  might  dwell  alone,  far,  far  above  this  world,  up 
in  the  seventh  heaven,  and  look  down  with  calm  and  silent  in- 
difference upon  all  the  doings  of  His  creatures;  He  might  do  as 
the  heathens  supposed  their  Jove  did,  sit  in  perpetual  silence, 
sometimes  nodding  his  awful  head  to  make  the  Fates  move  as  ho 


SERMONS.  577 

pleased,  but  never  taking  thought  of  the  little  things  of  earth, 
disposing  of  them  as  beneath  his  notice,  engrossed  within  his  own 
being,  swallowed  up  within  himself,  living  alone  and  retired ;  and 
I,  as  one  of  his  creatures,  might  stand  by  night  upon  a  mountain 
top,  and  look  upon  the  silent  stars,  and  say,  "  Ye  are  the  eyes  of 
God,  but  ye  look  not  down  on  me;  your  light  is  the  gift  of  His 
omnipotence,  but  your  rays  are  not  smiles  of  love  to  me.  God, 
the  mighty  Creator,  has  forgotten  me ;  I  am  a  despicable  drop  in 
the  ocean  of  creation,  a  sere  leaf  in  the  forest  of  beings,  an  atom 
in  the  mountain  of  existence.  He  knows  me  not;  I  am  alone, 
alone,  alone."  But  it  is  not  so,  beloved.  Our  God  is  of  another 
order.  He  notices  every  one  of  us.  There  is  not  a  sparrow  or 
a  worm  but  is  found  in  His  decrees.  There  is  not  a  person  upon 
whom  His  eye  is  not  fixed.  Our  most  secret  acts  are  known  to 
Him.  Whatsoever  we  do  or  bear  or  suffer,  the  eye  of  God  still 
rests  upon  us,  and  we  are  beneath  His  smile  —  for  we  are  His 
people;   or  beneath  His  frown  —  for  we  have  erred  from  Him. 

Oh,  how  ten-thousand-fold  merciful  is  God,  that,  looking  down 
upon  the  race  of  man,  He  does  not  smite  it  out  of  existence.  We 
see  from  our  text  that  God  looks  upon  man,  for  He  says  of 
Ephraim,  "  I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things  of  My  law,  but 
they  were  counted  as  a  strange  thing."  But  see  how  when  He 
observes  the  sin  of  man,  He  does  not  dash  him  away  and  spurn 
him  with  His  foot ;  He  does  not  shake  him  by  the  neck  over  the 
gulf  of  hell,  until  his  brain  doth  reel,  and  then  drop  him  for  ever, 
but  rather  He  comes  down  from  heaven  to  plead  with  His  crea- 
tures ;  He  argues  with  them ;  He  puts  Himself,  as  it  were,  upon 
a  level  with  the  sinner,  states  His  grievances,  and  pleads  His 
claim.  O  Ephraim,  I  have  written  unto  thee  the  great  things  of 
My  law,  but  they  have  been  unto  thee  as  a  strange  thing!  I 
come  here  to-night  in  God's  stead,  my  friends,  to  plead  with  you 
as  God's  ambassador,  to  charge  many  of  you  with  a  sin ;  to  lay 
it  to  your  hearts  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  so  that  you  may  be 
convinced  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  a  judgment  to  come. 
The  crime  I  charge  you  with  is  the  sin  of  the  text.  God  has 
written  to  you  the  great  things  of  His  law,  but  they  have  been 
unto  you  as  a  strange  thing.     It  is  concerning  this  blessed  book, 

37 


578  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

the  Bible,  that  I  mean  to  speak  to-night.  Here  lies  my  text, — 
this  Word  of  God.  Here  is  the  theme  of  my  discourse,  —  a  theme 
which  demands  more  eloquence  than  I  possess ;  a  subject  upon 
Avhich  a  thousand  orators  might  speak  at  once;  a  mighty,  vast, 
incomprehensive  theme,  which  might  engross  all  eloquence 
throughout  eternity,  and  still  it  would  remain  unexhausted. 

Concerning  the  Bible  I  have  three  things  to  say  to-night,  and 
they  are  all  in  my  text:  first,  its  author,  "/  have  written;"  sec- 
ondly, its  subjects,  —  the  great  things  of  God's  law;  and  thirdly, 
its  common  treatment,  —  it  has  been  accounted  by  most  men  a 
strange  thing. 

I.  First,  then,  concerning  this  book,  who  is  the  author?  The 
text  says  that  it  is  God.  "  /  have  written  to  him  the  great  things 
of  My  law."  Here  lies  my  Bible  —  who  wrote  it?  I  open  it,  and 
I  find  it  consists  of  a  series  of  tracts.  The  first  five  tracts  were 
written  by  a  man  called  Moses.  I  turn  on  and  I  find  others. 
Sometimes  I  see  David  is  the  penman,  at  other  times,  Solomon. 
Here  I  read  Micah,  then  Amos,  then  Hosea.  As  I  turn  further 
on,  to  the  more  luminous  pages  of  the  New  Testament,  I  see 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  Paul,  Peter,  James,  and  others; 
but  when  I  shut  up  the  book,  I  ask  myself  who  is  the  author  of 
it?  Do  these  men  jointly  claim  the  authorship?  Are  they  the 
compositors  of  this  massive  volume?  Do  they  between  them- 
selves divide  the  honor?  Our  holy  religion  answers,  "No!" 
This  volume  is  the  writing  of  the  living  God ;  each  letter  was 
penned  with  an  Almighty  finger;  each  word  in  it  dropped  from 
the  Everlasting  lips,  each  sentence  was  dictated  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Albeit,  that  Moses  was  employed  to  write  his  histories 
with  his  fiery  pen,  God  guided  that  pen.  It  may  be  that  David 
touched  his  harp  and  let  sweet  psalms  of  melody  drop  from  his 
fingers,  but  God  moved  his  hands  over  the  living  strings  of  his 
golden  harp.  It  may  be  that  Solomon  sang  canticles  of  love,  or 
gave  forth  words  of  consummate  wisdom,  but  God  directed  his 
lips,  and  made  the  preacher  eloquent.  If  I  follow  the  thundering 
Nahum  when  his  horses  plough  the  waters,  or  Habbakuk  when 
he  sees  the  tents  of  Cushan  in  affliction ;  if  I  read  Malachi,  when 
the  earth  is  burning  like  an  oven ;   if  I  turn  to  the  smooth  page  of 


SERMONS.  579 

John,  who  tells  of  love,  or  the  rugged,  fiery  chapters  of  Peter, 
who  speaks  of  the  fire  devouring  God's  enemies ;  if  I  turn  to 
Jude,  who  launches  forth  anathemas  upon  the  foes  of  God, —  every- 
where I  find  God  speaking:  it  is  God's  voice,  not  man's;  the 
word's  are  God's  words,  the  words  of  the  Eternal,  the  Invisible, 
the  Almighty,  the  Jehovah  of  this  earth.  This  Bible  is  God's 
Bible ;  and  when  I  see  it  I  seem  to  hear  a  voice  springing  up  from 
it,  saying,  "  I  am  the  book  of  God  :  man,  read  me.  I  am  God's 
writing :  open  my  leaf,  for  I  was  penned  by  God ;  read  it,  for  He 
is  my  author,  and  you  will  see  Him  visible  and  manifest  every- 
where."    "  I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things  of  My  law." 

How  do  you  know  that  God  wrote  the  book?  That  is  just 
what  I  shall  not  try  to  prove  to  you.  I  could,  if  I  pleased,  to  a 
demonstration,  for  there  are  arguments  enough,  there  are  reasons 
enough,  did  I  care  to  occupy  your  time  to-night  in  bringing  them 
before  you  ;  but  I  shall  do  no  such  thing.  I  might  tell  you,  if  I 
pleased,  that  the  grandeur  of  the  style  is  above  that  of  any  mortal 
writing,  and  that  all  the  poets  who  have  ever  existed  could  not, 
with  all  their  works  united,  give  us  such  sublime  poetry  and  such 
mighty  language  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures.  I  might 
insist  upon  it  that  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats  are  beyond  the 
human  intellect;  that  man  could  never  have  invented  the  grand 
doctrines  of  a  Trinity  in  the  Godhead ;  man  could  not  have  told 
us  anything  of  the  creation  of  the  universe ;  he  could  never  have 
been  the  author  of  the  majestic  idea  of  Providence,  that  all  things 
are  ordered  according  to  the  will  of  one  great  Supreme  Being, 
and  work  together  for  good.  I  might  enlarge  upon  its  honesty, 
since  it  tells  the  faults  of  its  writers ;  its  unity,  since  it  never  belies 
itself;  its  master  simplicity,  that  he  who  runs  may  read  it;  and  I 
might  mention  a  hundred  more  things,  which  would  all  prove  to  a 
demonstration  that  the  book  is  of  God.  But  I  come  not  here  to 
prove  it.  I  am  a  Christian  minister,  and  you  are  Christians,  or 
profess  to  be  so ;  and  there  is  never  any  necessity  for  Christian 
ministers  to  make  a  point  of  bringing  forth  infidel  arguments  in 
order  to  answer  them.  It  is  the  greatest  folly  in  the  world.  Infi- 
dels, poor  creatures,  do  not  know  their  own  arguments  till  we 
tell    them,   and   then  they   glean    their    blunted    shafts    to    shoot 


580  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

them  at  the  shield  of  truth  again.  It  is  folly  to  bring  forward 
these  firebrands  of  hell,  even  if  we  are  well  prepared  to  quench 
them.  Let  men  of  the  world  learn  error  of  themselves ;  do  not 
let  us  be  propagators  of  their  falsehoods.  True,  there  are  some 
preachers  who  are  short  of  stock,  and  want  them  to  fill  up  !  But 
God's  own  chosen  men  need  not  do  that ;  they  are  taught  of  God, 
and  God  supplies  them  with  matter,  with  language,  and  with 
power.  There  may  be  some  one  here  to-night  who  has  come 
without  faith,  a  man  of  reason,  a  free-thinker.  With  him  I  have 
no  argument  at  all.  I  profess  not  to  stand  here  as  a  controver- 
sialist, but  as  a  preacher  of  things  that  I  know  and  feel.  But 
I  too  have  been  like  him.  There  was  an  evil  hour  when  once  I 
slipped  the  anchor  of  my  faith ;  I  cut  the  cable  of  my  belief;  I  no 
longer  moored  myself  hard  by  the  coasts  of  revelation ;  I  allowed 
my  vessel  to  drift  before  the  wind  ;  I  said  to  Reason,  "  Be  thou  my 
captain;  "  I  said  to  my  own  brain,  "Be  thou  my  rudder;  "  and  I 
started  on  my  mad  voyage.  Thank  God  it  is  all  over  now;  but  I 
will  tell  you  its  brief  history.  It  was  one  hurried  sailing  over  the 
tempestuous  ocean  of  free-thought.  I  went  on,  and  as  I  went  the 
skies  began  to  darken ;  but  to  make  up  for  that  deficiency,  the 
waters  were  brilliant  with  coruscations  of  brilliancy.  I  saw  sparks 
flying  upwards  that  pleased  me,  and  I  thought,  "  If  this  be  free- 
thought,  it  is  a  happy  thing."  My  thoughts  seemed  gems,  and  I 
scattered  stars  with  both  my  hands.  But  anon,  instead  of  these 
coruscations  of  glory,  I  saw  grim  fiends,  fierce  and  horrible,  start 
up  from  the  waters,  and  as  I  dashed  on  they  gnashed  their  teeth 
and  grinned  upon  me ;  they  seized  the  prow  of  my  ship,  and 
dragged  me  on,  while  I,  in  part,  gloried  at  the  rapidity  of  my 
motion,  but  yet  shuddered  at  the  terrific  rate  with  which  I  passed 
the  old  landmarks  of  my  faith.  As  I  hurried  forward  with  an 
awful  speed,  I  began  to  doubt  my  very  existence;  I  doubted  if 
there  were  a  world,  I  doubted  if  there  were  such  a  thing  as  myself. 
I  went  to  the  very  verge  of  the  dreary  realms  of  unbelief,  I  went 
to  the  very  bottom  of  the  sea  of  infidelity.  I  doubted  everything. 
But  here  the  Devil  foiled  himself;  for  the  very  extravagance  of  the 
doubt  proved  its  absurdity.  Just  when  I  saw  the  bottom  of  that 
sea,  there  came  a  voice  which  said,  "And  can  this  doubt  be  true?" 


SERMONS.  581 

At  this  very  thought  I  awoke.  I  started  from  that  death-dream, 
which  God  knows  might  have  damned  my  soul  and  ruined  this 
my  body,  if  I  had  not  awoke.  When  I  arose  Faith  took  the  helm ; 
from  that  moment  I  doubted  not.  Faith  steered  me  back ;  Faith 
cried,  "Away,  away  !  "  I  cast  my  anchor  on  Calvary;  I  lifted  my 
eye  to  God;  and  here  I  am,  alive  and  out  of  hell.  Therefore 
I  speak  what  I  do  know.  I  have  sailed  that  perilous  voyage ;  I 
have  come  safe  to  land.  Ask  me  again  to  be  an  infidel !  No ; 
I  have  tried  it ;  it  was  sweet  at  first,  but  bitter  afterwards.  Now, 
lashed  to  God's  gospel  more  firmly  than  ever,  standing  as  on  a 
rock  of  adamant,  I  defy  the  arguments  of  Hell  to  move  me,  for 
"  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  He  is 
able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  Him."  But  I  shall 
neither  plead  nor  argue  this  night.  You  profess  to  be  Christian 
men,  or  else  you  would  not  be  here.  Your  profession  may  be 
lies ;  what  you  say  you  are,  may  be  the  very  contrary  to  what  you 
really  are ;  but  still  I  suppose  you  all  admit  that  this  is  the  Word 
of  God.  A  thought  or  two  then  upon  it.  "  I  have  written  to  him 
the  great  things  of  My  law." 

First,  my  friends,  stand  over  this  volume  and  admire  its  au- 
thority. This  is  no  common  book.  It  is  not  the  sayings  of  the 
sages  of  Greece ;  here  are  not  the  utterances  of  philosophers  of 
past  ages.  If  these  words  were  written  by  man,  we  might  reject 
them;  but  oh,  let  me  think  the  solemn  thought — that  this  book  is 
God's  handwriting,  that  these  words  are  God's.  Let  me  look  at  its 
date :  it  is  dated  from  the  hills  of  heaven.  Let  me  look  at  its  let- 
ters :  they  flash  glory  on  my  eye.  Let  me  read  the  chapters :  they 
are  big  with  meaning  and  mysteries  unknown.  Let  me  turn  over 
the  prophecies:  they  are  pregnant  with  unthought-of  wonders. 
Oh,  Book  of  books!  And  wast  thou  written  by  my  God?  Then 
will  I  bow  before  thee.  Thou  Book  of  vast  authority,  thou  art  a 
proclamation  from  the  Emperor  of  Heaven :  far  be  it  from  me  to 
exercise  my  reason  in  contradicting  thee.  Reason  !  thy  place  is  to 
stand  and  find  out  what  this  volume  means,  not  to  tell  what  this 
book  ought  to  say.  Come  thou,  my  reason,  my  intellect,  sit  thou 
down  and  listen,  for  these  words  are  the  words  of  God.  I  do  not 
know  how  to  enlarge  on    this    thought.      Oh,  if  you  could    ever 


582  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

remember  that  this  Bible  was  actually  and  really  written  by  God ! 
Oh,  if  ye  had  been  let  into  the  secret  chambers  of  heaven,  if  ye 
had  beheld  God  grasping  His  pen  and  writing  down  these  letters, 
then  surely  ye  would  respect  them.  But  they  are  just  as  much 
God's  handwriting  as  if  you  had  seen  God  write  them.  This  Bible 
is  a  book  of  authority ;  it  is  an  authorized  book,  for  God  has  writ- 
ten it.  Oh,  tremble,  tremble,  lest  any  of  you  despise  it !  Mark  its 
authority,  for  it  is  the  Word  of  God. 

Then,  since  God  wrote  it,  mark  its  triUJifiilness.  If  I  had  written 
it,  there  would  be  worms  of  critics  who  would  at  once  swarm  on  it, 
and  would  cover  it  with  their  evil  spawn ;  had  I  written  it,  there 
would  be  men  who  would  pull  it  to  pieces  at  once,  and  perhaps 
quite  right  too.  But  this  is  the  Word  of  God.  Come,  search,  ye 
critics,  and  find  a  flaw ;  examine  it  from  its  Genesis  to  its  Revela- 
tion, and  find  an  error.  This  is  a  vein  of  pure  gold,  unalloyed  by 
quartz  or  any  earthy  substance.  This  is  a  star  without  a  speck ; 
a  sun  without  a  blot;  a  light  without  darkness ;  a  moon  without  its 
paleness  ;  a  glory  without  a  dimness.  O  Bible  !  it  cannot  be  said 
of  any  other  book,  that  it  is  perfect  and  pure;  but  of  thee  we  can 
declare  all  wisdom  is  gathered  up  in  thee,  Avithout  a  particle  of  folly. 
This  is  the  judge  that  ends  the  strife  where  wit  and  reason  fail. 
This  is  the  book  untainted  by  any  error,  but  is  pure,  unalloyed, 
perfect  truth.  Why?  Because  God  wrote  it.  Ah!  charge  God 
with  error  if  ye  please;  tell  Him  that  His  book  is  not  what  it 
ought  to  be.  I  have  heard  men,  with  prudish  and  mock  modesty, 
who  would  like  to  alter  the  Bible;  and  (I  almost  blush  to  say  it) 
I  have  heard  ministers  alter  God's  Bible,  because  they  were  afraid 
of  it.  Have  you  never  heard  a  man  say,  "  He  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized,  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not,"  —  What 
does  the  Bible  say? —  "  shall  be  damned."  But  that  does  not  happen 
to  be  polite  enough,  so  they  say,  "  shall  be  condemned^  Gentle- 
men, pull  the  velvet  out  of  your  mouths;  speak  God's  Word;  we 
want  none  of  your  alterations.  I  have  heard 'men  in  prayer,  instead 
of  saying,  "  Make  your  calling  and  election  sure,"  say,  "  Make  your 
calling  and  salvation  sure."  Pity  they  were  not  born  when  God 
lived,  far, — far  back,  that  they  might  have  taught  God  how  to 
write.     Oh,  impudence  beyond  all  bounds !   Oh,  full-blown  self- 


SERMONS.  583 

conceit !  To  attempt  to  dictate  to  the  All-wise,  —  to  teach  the 
Omniscient  and  instruct  the  Eternal !  Strange  that  there  should 
be  men  so  vile  as  to  use  the  penknife  of  Jehoiakim,  to  cut  passages 
of  the  Word  because  they  are  unpalatable.  Oh,  ye  who  dislike 
certain  portions  of  the  Holy  Writ,  rest  assured  that  your  taste 
is  corrupt,  and  that  God  will  not  stay  for  your  little  opinion. 
Your  dislike  is  the  very  reason  why  God  wrote  it,  because  you 
ought  not  to  be  suited ;  you  have  no  right  to  be  pleased.  God 
wrote  what  you  do  not  like ;  He  wrote  the  truth.  Oh,  let  us  bend 
in  reverence  before  it,  for  God  inspired  it.  It  is  pure  truth.  Here 
from  this  fountain  gushes  aqua  vitcs,  —  "  the  water  of  life,"  without 
a  single  particle  of  earth ;  here  from  this  sun  there  comcth  forth 
rays  of  radiance,  without  the  mixture  of  darkness.  Blessed  Bible, 
thou  art  all  truth  ! 

Yet  once  more,  before  we  leave  this  point  let  us  stop  and  con- 
sider the  merciful  nature  of  God  in  having  written  us  a  Bible  at 
all.  Ah,  He  might  have  left  us  without  it,  to  grope  our  dark  way, 
as  blind  men  seek  the  wall;  He  might  have  suffered  us  to  wander 
on  with  the  star  of  reason  as  our  only  guide.  I  recollect  a  story 
of  Mr.  Hume,  who  so  constantly  affirmed  that  the  light  of  reason 
is  abundantly  sufficient.  Being  at' a  good  minister's  house  one 
evening,  he  had  been  discussing  the  question,  and  declaring  his 
firm  belief  in  the  sufficiency  of  the  hght  of  nature.  On  leaving, 
the  minister  offered  to  hold  him  a  candle,  to  light  him  down  the 
steps.  He  said,  "  No,  the  light  of  nature  would  be  enough ;  the 
moon  would  do."  It  so  happened  that  the  moon  was  covered  with 
a  cloud,  and  he  fell  down  the  steps.  "  Ah,"  said  the  minister, 
"  you  had  better  have  had  a  little  light  from  above,  after  all,  Mr. 
Hume."  So,  supposing  the  light  of  nature  to  be  sufficient,  we  had 
better  have  a  little  light  from  above  too,  and  then  we  shall  be  sure 
to  be  right.  Better  have  two  lights  than  only  one.  The  light  of 
creation  is  a  bright  light.  God  may  be  seen  in  the  stars  ;  His  name 
is  written  in  gilt  letters  on  the  brow  of  night ;  you  may  discover 
His  glory  in  the  ocean  waves,  yea,  in  the  trees  of  the  field.  But  it 
is  better  to  read  it  in  two  books  than  in  one.  You  will  find  it  here 
more  clearly  revealed,  for  He  has  written  this  book  Himself,  and 
He  has  given  you  the  key  to  understand  it,  if  you  have  the  Holy 


584  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

Spirit.     Ah,  beloved,  let  us  thank  God  for  this  Bible;   let  us  love 
it;   let  us  count  it  more  precious  than  much  fine  gold. 

But  let  me  say  one  thing  before  I  pass  on  to  the  second  point ; 
If  this  be  the  Word  of  God,  what  will  become  of  some  of  you 
who  have  not  read  it  for  the  last  month?  "  Month,  sir!  I  have  not 
read  it  for  this  year."  Ay,  there  are  some  of  you  who  have  not 
read  it  at  all.  Most  people  treat  the  Bible  very  politely.  They 
have  a  small  pocket  volume,  neatly  bound  ;  they  put  awhite  pocket- 
handkerchief  around  it,  and  carry  it  to  their  places  of  worship  ; 
when  they  get  home,  they  lay  it  up  in  a  drawer  till  next  Sunday 
morning;  then  it  comes  out  again  for  a  little  bit  of  a  treat  and 
goes  to  chapel ;  that  is  all  the  poor  Bible  gets  in  the  way  of  an 
airing.  That  is  your  style  of  entertaining  this  heavenly  messenger. 
There  is  dust  enough  on  some  of  your  Bibles  to  write  "damnation" 
with  your  fingers.  There  are  some  of  you  who  have  not  turned 
over  your  Bibles  for  a  long,  long,  long  while,  and  what  think 
you  ?  I  tell  you  blunt  words,  but  true  words.  What  will  God  say 
at  last?  When  you  shall  come  before  Him,  He  shall  say:  "Did 
you  read  My  Bible?  "  "  No."  "  I  wrote  you  a  letter  of  mercy; 
did  you  read  it?"  "No."  "Rebel!  I  have  sent  thee  a  letter 
inviting  thee  to  Me;  didst  thou  ever  read  it?"  "Lord,  I  never 
broke  the  seal ;  I  kept  it  shut  up."  "  Wretch  !  "  says  God,  "  then 
thou  deservest  hell,  if  I  sent  thee  a  loving  epistle  and  thou  wouldst 
not  even  break  the  seal:  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee?"  Oh,  let  it 
not  be  so  with  you  !     Be  Bible  readers  ;  be  Bible  searchers. 

n.  Our  second  point  is,  tJie  subjects  on  wJiicIi  the  Bible  treats. 
The  words  of  the  text  are  these :  "  I  have  written  to  him  the  great 
things  of  My  law."  The  Bible  treats  of  great  things,  and  of  great 
things  only.  There  is  nothing  in  this  Bible  which  is  unimportant. 
Every  verse  in  it  has  a  sqiemn  meaning,  and  if  we  have  not  found 
it  out  yet,  we  hope  yet  to  do  it.  You  have  seen  mummies  wrapped 
round  and  round  with  folds  of  linen.  Well,  God's  Bible  is  like 
that;  it  is  a  vast  roll  of  white  linen,  woven  in  the  loom  of  truth. 
So  you  will  have  to  continue  unwinding  it,  roll  after  roll,  before 
you  get  the  real  meaning  of  it  from  the  very  depth;  and  when 
you  have  found,  as  you  think,  a  part  of  the  meaning,  you  will  still 
need  to  keep  on  unwinding,  unwinding,  and  all  eternity  you  will 


SERMONS.  585 

be  unwinding  the  words  of  this  wondrous  volume.  Yet  there  is 
nothing  in  the  Bible  but  great  things.  Let  me  divide,  so  as  to  be 
more  brief.  First,  all  things  in  this  Bible  are  great;  but,  secondly, 
some  things  are  the  greatest  of  all. 

All  things  in  the  Bible  are  great.  Some  people  think  it  does 
not  matter  what  doctrines  you  believe ;  that  it  is  immaterial  what 
church  you  attend ;  that  all  denominations  are  alike.  Well,  I  dis- 
like  Mrs.  Bigotry  above  almost  all  people  in  the  world,  and  I  never 
give  her  any  compliment  or  praise.  But  there  is  another  woman 
I  hate  equally  as  much,  and  that  is  Mrs.  Latitudinarianism,  a  well- 
known  character,  who  has  made  the  discovery  that  all  of  us  are 
alike.  Now,  I  believe  that  a  man  may  be  saved  in  any  church. 
Some  have  been  saved  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  —  a  few  blessed 
men,  whose  names  I  could  mention  here.  I  know,  blessed  be  God  ! 
that  multitudes  are  saved  in  the  Church  of  England:  she  has  a 
host  of  pious,  praying  men  in  her  midst.  I  think  that  all  sections 
of  Protestant  Christians  have  a  remnant  according  to  the  election 
of  grace,  and  they  had  need  to  have,  some  of  them,  a  little  salt, 
for  otherwise  they  would  go  to  corruption.  But  when  I  say  that, 
do  you  imagine  that  I  think  them  all  on  a  level?  Are  they  all 
alike  truthful?  One  sect  says  infant  baptism  is  right;  another 
says  it  is  wrong :  yet  you  say  they  are  both  right.  I  cannot  see 
that.  One  teaches  we  are  saved  by  free  grace ;  another  says  that 
we  are  not,  but  are  saved  by  free  will :  and  yet  you  believe  they 
are  both  right.  I  do  not  understand  that.  One  says  that  God 
loves  His  people,  and  never  leaves  off  loving  them ;  another  says 
that  He  did  not  love  His  people  before  they  loved  Him;  that  He 
often  loves  them,  and  then  ceases  to  love  them,  and  turns  them 
away.  They  may  be  both  right  in  the  main  ;  but  can  they  be 
both  right  when  one  says  "  Yes,"  and  the  other  says  "  No."  I 
must  have  a  pair  of  spectacles  to  enable  me  to  look  backv/ards 
and  forwards  at  the  same  time  before  I  can  see  that.  It  cannot  be, 
sirs,  that  they  are  both  right.  But  some  say  they  differ  upon  non- 
essentials. This  text  says  :  "  I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things 
of  My  law."  There  is  nothing  in  God's  Bible  which  is  not  great. 
Did  ever  any  of  you  sit  down  to  see  which  was  the  purest  religion? 
"  Oh,"  say  you,  "  we  never  took  the  trouble.     We  went  just  where 


586  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

our  father  and  mother  went."  Ah,  that  is  a  profound  reason  in- 
deed !  You  went  where  your  father  and  mother  did.  I  thought 
you  were  sensible  people ;  I  did  n't  think  you  went  where  other 
people  pulled  you,  but  went  of  your  own  selves.  I  love  my  parents 
above  all  that  breathe,  and  the  very  thought  that  they  believed 
a  thing  to  be  true  helps  me  to  think  it  is  correct;  but  I  have 
not  followed  them.  I  belong  to  a  different  denomination,  and  I 
thank  God  I  do.  I  can  receive  them  as  Christian  brethren  and 
sisters;  but  I  never  thought  that  because  they  happened  to  be 
one  thing  I  was  to  be  the  same.  No  such  thing.  God  gave  me 
brains,  and  I  will  use  them ;  and  if  you  have  any  intellect,  use  it 
too.  Never  say  it  does  n't  matter.  It  does  matter.  Whatever 
God  has  put  here  is  of  eminent  importance :  He  would  not  have 
written  a  thing  that  was  indifferent.  Whatever  is  here  is  of  some 
value  ;  therefore,  search  all  questions  ;  try  all  by  the  Word  of  God. 
I  am  not  afraid  to  have  what  I  preach  tried  by  this  book.  Only 
give  me  a  fair  field  and  no  favor  and  this  book ;  if  I  say  anything 
contrary  to  it,  I  will  withdraw  it  the  next  Sabbath-day.  By  th'"s  I 
stand,  by  this  I  fall.  Search  and  see;  but  don't  say,  "It  does  not 
matter."     If  God  says  a  thing,  it  must  always  be  of  importance. 

But  while  all  things  in  God's  Word  are  important,  all  arc  not 
equally  important.  There  are  certain  fundamental  and  vital  truths 
which  must  be  believed,  or  otherwise  no  man  would  be  saved.  If 
you  want  to  know  what  you  must  believe  if  ye  would  be  saved, 
you  will  find  the  great  things  of  God's  law  between  these  two 
covers ;  they  are  all  contained  here.  As  a  sort  of  digest  or  sum- 
mary of  the  great  things  of  the  law,  I  remember  an  old  friend  of 
mine  once  saying:  "  Ah,  you  preach  the  three  R's,  and  God  will 
always  bless  you!"  I  said:  "What  are  the  three  R's?"  And 
he  answered :  "  Ruin,  redemption,  and  regeneration."  They  con- 
tain the  sum  and  substance  of  divinity.  R  for  ruin.  We  were  all 
ruined  in  the  fall ;  we  were  all  lost  when  Adam  sinned,  and  we  are 
all  ruined  by  our  own  transgressions ;  we  are  all  ruined  by  our 
own  evil  hearts  and  our  own  wicked  wills ;  and  we  all  shall  be 
ruined  unless  grace  saves  us.  Then  there  is  a  second  R  for  re- 
demption. We  are  ransomed  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  —  a  Lamb 
without  blemish  and  without  spot;  we  are  rescued  by  His  power; 


SERMONS.  587 

we  are  ransomed  by  His  merits ;  we  are  redeemed  by  His  strength. 
Then  there  is  R  for  regeneration.  If  we  would  be  pardoned,  we 
must  also  be  regenerated ;  for  no  man  can  partake  of  redemption 
unless  he  is  regenerate.  Let  him  be  as  good  as  he  pleases,  let 
him  serve  God,  as  he  imagines,  as  much  as  he  likes ;  unless  he  is 
regenerate,  and  has  a  new  heart,  a  new  birth,  he  will  still  be  in 
the  first  R,  —  that  is,  ruin.  These  things  contain  an  epitome  of 
the  gospel.  I  believe  there  is  a  better  epitome  in  the  five  points 
of  Calvinism :  Election  according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God ; 
the  natural  depravity  and  sinfulness  of  man ;  particular  redemp- 
tion by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  effectual  calling  by  the  power  of  the 
Spirit;  and  ultimate  perseverance  by  the  efforts  of  God's  might. 
I  think  all  those  need  to  be  believed  in  order  to  salvation ;  but  I 
should  not  like  to  write  a  creed  like  the  Athanasian,  beginning  with 
"  Whosoever  shall  be  saved,  before  all  things  it  is  necessary  that 
he  should  hold  the  Catholic  faith,  which  faith  is  this,"  —  when  I 
got  so  far  I  should  stop,  because  I  should  not  know  what  to  write. 
I  hold  the  Catholic  faith  of  the  Bible,  the  whole  Bible,  and  nothing 
but  the  Bible.  It  is  not  for  me  to  draw  up  creeds;  but  I  ask  you 
to  search  the  Scriptures,  for  this  is  the  word  of  life. 

God  says :  "  I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things  of  My  law." 
Do  you  doubt  their  greatness?  Do  ye  think  they  are  not  worth 
your  attention?  Reflect  a  moment,  man  !  Where  art  thou  stand- 
ing now? 

"  Lo,  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 

'Twixt  two  unbounded  seas  I  stand; 

An  inch  of  time,  a  moment's  space, 

May  lodge  me  in  yon  heavenly  place, 
Or  shut  me  up  in  hell." 

I  recollect  standing  on  a  sea-shore  once,  upon  a  narrow  neck  of 
land,  thoughtless  that  the  tide  might  come  up.  The  tide  kept 
continually  washing  up  on  either  side,  and,  rapt  in  thought,  I 
still  stood  there,  until  at  last  there  was  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
getting  on  shore ;  the  waves  had  washed  between  me  and  the 
shore.  You  and  I  stand  each  day  on  a  narrow  neck,  and  there 
is  one  wave  coming  up  there.  See,  how  near  it  is  to  your  foot ! 
And  lo  !  another  follows  at  every  tick  of  the  clock.  "  Our  hearts, 
like  muffled  drums,  are  beating  funeral  marches  to  the  grave."    We 


588  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

are  always  tending  downwards  to  the  grave  each  moment  that  we 
live.  This  book  tells  me  that  if  I  am  converted,  when  I  die  there 
is  a  heaven  of  joy  and  love  to  receive  me ;  it  tells  me  that  angels' 
pinions  shall  be  stretched,  and  I,  borne  by  strong  cherubic  wings, 
shall  out-soar  the  lightning,  and  mount  beyond  the  stars,  up  to  the 
throne  of  God,  to  dwell  for  ever 

"  Far  from  a  world  of  grief  and  sin, 
With  God  eternally  shut  in." 

Oh,  it  makes  the  hot  tear  start  from  my  eye !  It  makes  my  heart 
too  big  for  this  my  body,  and  my  brain  whirls  at  the  thought  of 

"  Jerusalem,  my  happy  home. 
Name  ever  dear  to  me." 

Oh,  that  sweet  scene  beyond  the  clouds,  —  sweet  fields  arrayed  in 
living  green,  and  rivers  of  delight!  Are  not  these  great  things? 
But  then,  poor  unregenerate  soul,  the  Bible  says,  if  thou  art  lost, 
thou  art  lost  for  ever;  it  tells  thee,  that  if  thou  diest  without 
Christ,  without  God,  there  is  no  hope  for  thee,  that  there  is  a  place 
without  a  gleam  of  hope,  where  thou  shalt  read  in  burning  letters, 
"  Ye  knew  your  duty,  but  ye  did  it  not;  "  it  tells  you  that  ye  shall 
be  driven  from  His  presence  with  a  "  Depart,  ye  cursed."  Are  not 
these  great  things?  Yes,  sirs,  as  heaven  is  desirable,  as  hell  is  ter- 
rible, as  time  is  short,  as  eternity  is  infinite,  as  the  soul  is  precious, 
as  pain  is  to  be  shunned,  as  heaven  is  to  be  sought,  as  God  is  eter- 
nal, and  as  His  words  are  sure,  these  are  great  things,  things  ye 
ought  to  listen  to. 

III.  Our  last  point  is  the  treatment  zvJiicJi  the  holy  Bible  receives 
in  this  ivorld.  It  is  accounted  a  strange  thing.  What  does  that 
mean,  —  the  Bible  accounted  a  strange  thing?  In  the  first  place,  it 
means  that  it  is  very  strange  to  some  people,  because  they  never 
read  it.  I  remember  reading  on  one  occasion  the  sacred  story  of 
David  and  Goliath,  and  there  was  a  person  present,  positively 
grown  up  to  years  of  maturity,  who  said  to  me,  "  Dear  me !  what 
an  interesting  story;  what  book  is  that  in?"  And  I  recollect  a 
person  once  coming  to  me  in  private.  I  spoke  to  her  about  her 
soul ;  she  told  me  how  deeply  she  felt,  how  she  had  a  desire  to  serve 
God,  but  she  found  another  law  in  her  members.     I  turned  to  a 


SERMONS.  589 

passage  in  Romans,  and  read  to  her,  "  The  good  that  I  would,  1 
do  not;  and  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do!"  She  said, 
"  Is  that  in  the  Bible?  I  did  not  know  it."  I  did  not  blame  her 
because  she  had  no  interest  in  the  Bible  till  then ;  but  I  did  won- 
der that  there  could  be  found  persons  who  knew  nothing  about 
such  a  passage.  Ah  !  you  know  more  about  your  ledgers  than  your 
Bible ;  you  know  more  about  your  day-books  than  what  God  has 
written.  Many  of  you  will  read  a  novel  from  beginning  to  end, 
and  what  have  you  got?  A  mouthful  of  froth  when  you  have 
done.  But  you  cannot  read  the  Bible  :  that  solid,  lasting,  substan- 
tial, and  satisfying  food  goes  uneaten,  locked  up  in  the  cupboard 
of  neglect;  while  anything  that  man  writes,  a  catch  of  the  day,  is 
greedily  devoured.  "  I  have  written  unto  him  the  great  things 
of  My  law,  but  they  were  counted  as  a  strange  thing."  Ye  have 
never  read  it.  I  bring  the  broad  charge  against  you.  Perhaps  ye 
say  I  ought  not  to  charge  you  with  any  such  thing,  I  always 
think  it  better  to  have  a  worse  opinion  of  you  than  too  good  an 
one.  I  charge  you  with  this :  you  do  not  read  your  Bible. 
Some  of  you  never  have  read  it  through.  I  know  I  speak  what 
your  heart  must  say  is  honest  truth.  You  are  not  Bible-readers. 
You  say  you  have  the  Bible  in  your  houses :  do  I  think  you  are 
such  heathens  as  not  to  have  a  Bible?  But  when  did  you  read 
it  last?  How  do  you  know  that  your  spectacles,  which  you  have 
lost,  have  not  been  there  for  the  last  three  years?  Many  people 
have  not  turned  over  its  pages  for  a  long  time,  and  God  might 
say  unto  them,  "  I  have  written  unto  you  the  great  things  of  My 
law,  but  they  have  been  accounted  unto  you  a  strange  thing." 

Others  there  be  who  read  the  Bible,  but  when  they  read  it,  they 
say  it  is  so  horribly  dry.  That  young  man  over  there  says  it  is  a 
"  bore;  "  that  is  the  word  he  uses.  He  says,  "  My  mother  said  to 
me,  '  When  you  go  up  to  town,  read  a  chapter  every  day.'  Well, 
I  thought  I  would  please  her,  and  I  said  I  w'ould.  I  am  sure  I 
wish  I  had  not.  I  did  not  read  a  chapter  yesterday  or  the  day 
before.  We  were  so  busy.  I  could  not  help  it."  You  do  not  love 
the  Bible,  do  you?  "No;  there  is  nothing  in  it  which  is  interest- 
ing." Ah!  I  thought  so.  But  a  little  while  ago  /could  not  see 
anything  in  it.     Do  you  know  why?     Blind  men  cannot  see,  can 


590  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

they?  But  when  the  Spirit  touches  the  scales  of  the  eyes  they  fall 
off,  and  when  He  puts  eye-salve  on,  then  the  Bible  becomes  pre- 
cious. I  remember  a  minister  who  went  to  see  an  old  lady,  and 
he  thought  he  would  give  her  some  precious  promises  out  of  the 
Word  of  God.  Turning  to  one,  he  saw  written  in  the  margin, 
"  P,"  and  he  asked,  "  What  does  this  mean?"  "That  means  pre- 
cious, sir."  Further  down  he  saw  "  T.  and  P.,"  and  he  asked  what 
the  letters  meant.  "  That,"  she  said,  "  means  tried  and  proved,  for 
I  have  tried  and  proved  it."  If  you  have  tried  God's  Word  and 
proved  it;  if  it  is  precious  to  your  souls,  then  you  are  Christians; 
but  those  persons  who  despise  the  Bible  have  "  neither  part  nor  lot 
in  the  matter."  If  it  is  dry  to  you,  you  will  be  dry  at  last  in  hell. 
If  you  do  not  esteem  it  as  better  than  your  necessary  food,  there 
is  no  hope  for  you,  for  you  lack  the  greatest  evidence  of  your 
Christianity. 

Alas  !  alas  !  the  worse  case  is  to  come.  There  m^e  some  people 
who  hate  the  Bible,  as  well  as  despise  it.  Is  there  such  an  one 
stepped  in  here?  Some  of  you  said,  "Let  us  go  and  hear  what 
the  young  preacher  has  to  say  to  us."  This  is  what  he  hath  to 
say  to  you:  "  Behold,  ye  despisers,  and  wonder  and  perish."  This 
is  what  he  hath  to  say  to  you :  "  The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into 
hell,  and  all  that  forget  God."  And  this,  again,  he  has  to  say  to 
you :  "  Behold  there  shall  come  in  the  last  days  mockers  like  your- 
selves, walking  after  your  own  lusts."  But  more :  he  tells  you  to- 
night that  if  you  are  saved,  you  must  find  salvation  here.  There- 
fore despise  not  the  Bible,  but  search  it,  read  it,  and  come  unto  it. 
Rest  thee  well  assured,  O  scorner,  that  thy  laughs  cannot  alter 
truth,  thy  jests  cannot  avert  thine  inevitable  doom.  Though  in 
thy  hardihood  thou  shouldst  make  a  league  with  death,  and  sign 
a  covenant  with  hell,  yet  swift  justice  shall  o'ertake  thee,  and 
strong  vengeance  strike  thee  low.  In  vain  dost  thou  jeer  and  mock, 
for  eternal  verities  are  mightier  than  thy  sophistries ;  nor  can  thy 
smart  saying  alter  the  divine  truth  of  a  single  word  of  this  volume 
of  revelation.  Oh  !  why  dost  thou  quarrel  with  thy  best  friend 
and  ill  treat  thy  only  refuge?  There  yet  remains  hope  even  for  the 
scorner,  —  hope  in  a  Saviour's  veins  ;  hope  in  the  Father's  mercy; 
hope  in  the  Holy  Spirit's  omnipotent  agency. 


SERMONS.  591 

I  have  done  when  I  have  said  one  word.  My  friend  the  philoso- 
pher says  it  may  be  very  well  for  me  to  urge  people  to  read  the 
Bible ;  but  he  thinks  there  are  a  great  many  sciences  far  more  in- 
teresting and  useful  than  theology.  Extremely  obliged  to  yoii  for 
your  opinion,  sir.  What  science  do  you  mean?  The  science  of 
dissecting  beetles  and  arranging  butterflies?  "No,"  you  say,  "cer- 
tainly not."  The  science,  the'n,  of  arranging  stones  and  telling  us 
of  the  strata  of  the  earth?  "No,  not  exactly  that."  Which  science, 
then?  "Oh,  all  sciences,"  say  you,  "are  better  than  the  science 
of  the  Bible."  Ah,  sir,  that  is  your  opinion ;  and  it  is  because 
you  are  far  from  God  that  you  say  so.  But  the  science  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  most  excellent  of  sciences.  Let  no  one  turn  away 
from  the  Bible  because  it  is  not  a  book  of  learning  and  wisdom. 
It  is.  Would  ye  know  astronomy?  It  is  here:  it  tells  you  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  and  the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  Would  ye  know 
botany?  It  is  here  :  it  tells  you  of  the  plant  of  renown,  —  the  Lily 
of  the  Valley  and  the  Rose  of  Sharon.  Would  ye  know  geology 
and  mineralogy?  You  shall  learn  it  here:  for  you  may  read  of 
the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  the  White  Stone  with  a  name  graven 
thereon,  which  no  man  knoweth,  saving  he  that  receiveth  it. 
Would  ye  study  history?  Here  is  the  most  ancient  of  all  the 
records  of  the  history  of  the  human  race.  Whate'er  your  science 
is,  come  and  bend  o'er  this  book;  your  science  is  here.  Come 
and  drink  out  of  this  fair  fount  of  knowledge  and  wisdom,  and  ye 
shall  find  yourselves  made  wise  unto  salvation.  Wise  and  foolish, 
babes  and  men,  gray-headed  sires,  youths  and  maidens,  —  I  speak 
to  you,  I  plead  with  you,  I  beg  of  you  respect  your  Bibles  and 
search  them  out,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and 
these  are  they  which  testify  of  Christ. 

I  have  done.  Let  us  go  home  and  practise  what  we  have  heard. 
I  have  heard  of  a  woman,  who,  when  she  was  asked  what  she  re- 
membered of  the  minister's  sermon,  said,  "  I  don't  recollect  any- 
thing of  it.  It  was  about  short  weights  and  bad  measures,  and  I 
didn't  recollect  anything  but  to  go  home  and  burn  the  bushel." 
So  if  you  will  remember  to  go  home  and  burn  the  bushel,  if  you 
will  recollect  to  go  home  and  read  your  Bibles,  I  shall  have  said 
enough.  And  may  God,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  when  you  read  your 


592  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

Bibles,  pour  into  your  soul  the  illuminating  rays  of  the   Sun  of 
Righteousness,  by  the  agency  of  the  ever-adorable  Spirit;   then 
you  will  read  to  your  profit  and  to  your  soul's  salvation. 
We  may  say  of  the  Bible :  — 

"  God's  cabinet  of  revealed  counsel  't  is, 
Where  weal  and  woe  are  ordered  so 
That  every  man  may  know  which  shall  be  his, 
Unless  his  own  mistake  false  application  make. 

"  It  is  the  index  to  eternity. 
He  cannot  miss  of  endless  bliss, 
That  takes  this  chart  to  steer  by  ; 
Nor  can  he  be  mistook,  that  speaketh  by  this  book. 

« It  is  the  book  of  God.     What  if  I  should 
Say,  God  of  books,  let  him  that  looks 
Angry  at  that  expression,  as  too  bold. 
His  thoughts  in  silence  smother  till  he  find  such  another." 


THE   ETERNAL   NAME. 

A   SERMON,    DELIVERED   ON   MAY    27,    1 85 5,    BY   PASTOR   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 
"  His  name  shall  endure  for  ever." — Ps.  Ixxii.  17. 

No  one  here  requires  to  be  told  that  this  is  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  "  shall  endure  for  ever."  Men  have  said  of  many  of 
their  works,  "they  shall  endure  for  ever;"  but  how  much  have 
they  been  disappointed  !  In  the  age  succeeding  the  flood,  they 
made  the  brick,  they  gathered  the  slime,  and  when  they  had  piled 
old  Babel's  tower,  they  said,  "  This  shall  last  for  ever."  But  God 
confounded  their  language  ;  they  finished  it  not.  By  His  lightnings 
He  destroyed  it,  and  left  it  a  monument  of  their  folly.  Old  Pha- 
raoh and  the  Egyptian  monarchs  heaped  up  their  pyramids,  and 
they  said,  "  They  shall  stand  for  ever,"  and  so  indeed  they  do 
stand ;  but  the  time  is  approaching  when  age  shall  devour  even 
these.  So  with  all  the  proudest  works  of  man,  whether  they  have 
been  his  temples  or  his  monarchies,  he  has  written  "  everlasting  " 


SERMONS.  593 

on  them ;  but  God  has  ordained  their  end,  and  they  have  passed 
away.  The  most  stable  things  have  been  evanescent  as  shadows 
and  the  bubbles  of  an  hour,  speedily  destroyed  at  God's  bidding. 
Where  is  Nineveh,  and  where  is  Babylon?  Where  the  cities  of 
Persia?  Where  are  the  high  places  of  Edom?  Where  are  Moab, 
and  the  princes  of  Ammon?  Where  are  the  temples  of  the  heroes 
of  Greece  ?  Where  the  millions  that  passed  from  the  gates  of 
Thebes?  Where  are  the  hosts  of  Xerxes,  or  where  the  vast 
armies  of  the  Roman  emperors?  Have  they  not  passed  away? 
And  though  in  their  pride  they  said,  "  This  monarchy  is  an  ever- 
lasting one,  this  queen  of  the  seven  hills  shall  be  called  the 
eternal  city,"  its  pride  is  dimmed ;  and  she  who  sat  alone,  and  said, 
"  I  shall  be  no  widow,  but  a  queen  for  ever,"  she  hath  fallen,  hath 
fallen,  and  in  a  little  while  she  shall  sink  hke  a  millstone  in  the 
flood,  her  name  being  a  curse  and  a  by-word,  and  her  site  the 
habitation  of  dragons  and  of  owls.  Man  calls  his  works  eternal; 
God  calls  them  fleeting.  Man  conceives  that  they  are  built  of 
rock ;  God  says,  "  Nay,  sand,  or,  worse  than  that,  they  are  air." 
Man  says  he  erects  them  for  eternity;  God  blows  but  for  a 
moment,  and  where  are  tliey?  Like  baseless  fabrics  of  a  vision, 
they  are  past  and  gone  for  ever. 

It  is  pleasant,  then,  to  find  that  there  is  one  thing  which  is  to 
last  for  ever.  Concerning  that  one  thing  we  hope  to  speak  to- 
night, if  God  will  enable  me  to  preach  and  you  to  hear.  "  His 
name  shall  endure  for  ever."  First,  the  religion  sanctified  by  His 
name  shall  endure  for  ever;  secondly,  tJie  Jionor  oi  His  name  shall 
endure  for  ever;  and  thirdly,  the  saving,  comforting  power  of  His 
name  shall  endure  for  ever. 

I.  First,  the  religion  of  the  name  of  Jesns  is  to  ejidure  for  ever. 
When  impostors  forged  their  delusions,  they  had  hopes  that  per- 
adventure  they  might  in  some  distant  age  carry  the  world  before 
them,  and  if  they  saw  a  few  followers  gather  around  their  stan- 
dard, who  offered  incense  at  their  shrine,  then  they  smiled,  and 
said,  "  My  religion  shall  outshine  the  stars  and  last  through  eter- 
nity." But  how  mistaken  have  they  been !  How  many  false 
systems  have  started  up  and  passed  away!  Why,  some  of  us 
have  seen,  even  in  our  short  lifetime,  sects  that  rose  like  Jonah's 

38 


594  LIFE   AND   LABORS    OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

gourd  in  a  single  night,  and  passed  away  as  swiftly.  We  too  have 
beheld  prophets  rise,  who  have  had  their  hour ;  yea,  they  have  had 
their  day,  as  dogs  all  have,  but  like  the  dogs,  their  day  has  passed 
away,  and  the  impostor,  where  is  he?  And  the  arch-deceiver, 
where  is  he?  Gone  and  ceased.  Specially  might  I  say  this  of 
the  various  systems  of  infidelity.  Within  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  how  has  the  boasted  power  of  reason  changed !  It  has 
piled  up  one  thing,  and  then  another  day  it  has  laughed  at  its  own 
handiwork,  demolished  its  own  castle,  and  constructed  another, 
and  the  next  day  a  third.  It  hath  a  thousand  dresses.  Once  it 
came  forth  like  a  fool  with  its  bells,  heralded  by  Voltaire ;  then  it 
came  out  a  braggart  bully,  hke  Tom  Paine ;  then  it  changed  its 
course  and  assumed  another  shape,  till  forsooth  we  have  it  in  the 
base,  bestial  secularism  of  the  present  day,  which  looks  for  nought 
but  the  earth,  keeps  its  nose  upon  the  ground,  and,  like  the  beast, 
thinks  this  world  is  enough,  or  looks  for  another  through  seeking 
this.  Why,  before  one  hair  on  this  head  shall  be  gray,  the  last 
secularist  shall  have  passed  away;  before  many  of  us  are  fifty 
years  of  age  a  new  infidelity  shall  come,  and  to  those  who  say, 
"  Where  will  saints  be?  "  we  can  turn  round  and  say,  "Where  are 
you?"  And  they  will  answer,  "We  have  altered  our  names." 
They  will  have  altered  their  names,  assumed  a  fresh  shape,  put  on 
a  new  form  of  evil ;  but  still  their  nature  will  be  the  same,  oppos- 
ing Christ,  and  endeavoring  to  blaspheme  His  truths.  On  all  their 
systems  of  religion,  or  non-religion,  —  for  that  is  a  system,  too,  — 
it  may  be  written,  "Evanescent:  fading  as  the  flower,  fleeting  as 
the  meteor,  frail  and  unreal  as  a  vapor."  But  of  Christ's  religion 
it  shall  be  said,  "  His  name  shall  endure  for  ever."  Let  me  now 
say  a  few  things,  —not  to  prove  it,  for  that  I  do  not  wish  to  do, — 
but  to  give  you  some  hints  whereby  possibly  I  may  one  day  prove 
it  to  other  people,  that  Jesus  Christ's  religion  must  inevitably 
endure  for  ever. 

And  first,  we  ask  those  who  think  it  shall  pass  away,  when  was 
there  a  time  when  it  did  not  exist?  We  ask  them  whether  they 
can  point  their  finger  to  a  period  when  the  religion  of  Jesus  was 
an  unheard-of  thing.  "  Yes,"  they  will  reply,  "  before  the  days  of 
Christ  and  His  apostles."     But  we  answer,  "  Nay,  Bethlehem  was 


SERMONS.  595 

not  the  birthplace  of  the  gospel;  though  Jesus  was  born  there, 
there  was  a  gospel  long  before  the  birth  of  Jesus,  and  a  preached 
one  too,  although  not  preached  in  all  its  simplicity  and  plainness, 
as  we  hear  it  now.  There  was  a  gospel  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai ; 
although  it  might  be  confused  with  the  smoke  of  the  incense,  and 
only  to  be  seen  through  slaughtered  victims,  yet  there  was  a 
gospel  there."  Yea,  more,  we  take  them  back  to  the  fair  trees  of 
Eden,  where  the  fruits  perpetually  ripened  and  summer  always 
rested,  and  amid  these  grov^es  we  tell  them  there  was  a  gospel, 
and  we  let  them  hear  the  voice  of  God  as  He  spoke  to  recreant 
man,  and  said,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's 
head."  And  having  taken  them  thus  far  back,  we  ask,  "  Where 
were  false  religions  born?  Where  was  their  cradle?"  They 
point  us  to  Mecca,  or  they  turn  their  fingers  to  Rome,  or  they 
speak  of  Confucius,  or  the  dogmas  of  Buddha.  But  we  say, 
you  only  go  back  to  a  distant  obscurity:  we  take  you  to  the 
primeval  age;  we  direct  you  to  the  days  of  purity;  we  take  you 
back  to  the  time  when  Adam  first  trod  the  earth ;  and  then  we 
ask  you  whether  it  is  not  likely  that  as  the  first-born,  it  will  not 
also  be  the  last  to  die ;  and  as  it  was  born  so  early,  and  still  exists, 
whilst  a  thousand  ephemera  have  become  extinct,  whether  it  does 
not  look  most  probable  that  when  all  others  shall  have  perished 
like  the  bubble  upon  the  wave,  this  only  shall  swim,  like  a  good 
ship  upon  the  ocean,  and  still  shall  bear  its  myriad  souls,  not  to 
the  land  of  shades,  but  across  the  river  of  death  to  the  plains  of 
heaven. 

We  ask  next,  supposing  Christ's  gospel  to  become  extinct,  what 
religion  is  to  supplant  it?  We  inquire  of  the  wise  man,  who  says 
Christianity  is  soon  to  die,  "  Pray,  sir,  what  religion  are  we  to  have 
in  its  stead?  Are  we  to  have  the  delusions  of  the  heathen,  who 
bow  before  their  gods  and  worship  images  of  wood  and  stone? 
Will  ye  have  the  orgies  of  Bacchus  or  the  obscenities  of  Venus? 
Would  ye  see  your  daughters  once  more  bowing  down  before 
Thammuz,  or  performing  obscene  rites  as  of  old?  "  Nay,  ye  would 
not  endure  such  things ;  ye  would  say,  "  It  must  not  be  tolerated 
by  civilized  men."  "Then  what  would  ye  have?  Would  ye  have 
Romanism  and  its  superstition?"     Ye  will  say,  "No,  God  help  us, 


596  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

never."  They  may  do  what  they  please  with  Britain,  but  she  h 
too  wise  to  take  old  Popery  back  again  while  Smithfield  lasts,  and 
there  is  one  of  the  signs  of  martyrs  there;  ay,  while  there  breathes 
a  man  who  marks  himself  a  freeman,  and  swears  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Old  England,  we  cannot  take  Popery  back  again.  She  may 
be  rampant  with  her  superstitions  and  her  priestcraft,  but  with  one 
consent  my  hearers  reply,  "  We  will  not  have  Popery."  Then 
what  will  ye  choose  ?  Shall  it  be  Mohammedanism  ?  Will  ye  choose 
that,  with  all  its  fables,  its  wickedness  and  libidinousness?  I  will 
not  tell  you  of  it.  Nor  will  I  mention  the  accursed  imposture  of 
the  West  that  has  lately  arisen.  We  will  not  allow  Polygamy 
while  there  are  men  to  be  found  who  love  the  social  circle  and 
cannot  see  it  invaded.  We  would  not  wish,  when  God  hath  given 
to  man  one  wife,  that  he  should  drag  in  twenty  as  the  companions 
of  that  one.  We  cannot  prefer  Mormonism ;  we  will  not,  and  we 
shall  not.  Then  what  shall  we  have  in  the  place  of  Christianity? 
"  Infidelity!  "  you  cry,  do  you,  sirs?  And  would  you  have  that? 
Then  what  would  be  the  consequence?  What  do  many  of  them 
promote?  Communist  views,  and  the  real  disruption  of  all  society 
as  at  present  established.  Would  you  desire  Reigns  of  Terror  here 
as  they  had  in  France?  Do  you  wish  to  see  all  society  shattered, 
and  men  wandering  like  monster  icebergs  on  the  sea,  dashing 
against  each  other,  and  being  at  last  utterly  destroyed?  God  save 
us  from  Infidelity!  What  can  you  have,  then?  Nought.  There 
is  nothing  to  supplant  Christianity.  What  religion  shall  overcome 
it?  There  is  not  one  to  be  compared  with  it.  If  we  tread  the 
globe  round,  and  search  from  Britain  to  Japan,  there  shall  be  no 
religion  found  so  just  to  God,  so  safe  to  man. 

We  ask  the  enemy  once  more,  suppose  a  religion  were  to  be 
found  which  would  be  preferable  to  the  one  we  love,  by  what  means 
would  you  crush  ours?  How  would  you  get  rid  of  the  religion 
of  Jesus?  and  how  would  you  extinguish  His  name?  Surely,  sirs, 
ye  would  never  think  of  the  old  practice  of  persecution,  would 
you  ?  Would  ye  once  more  try  the  efficacy  of  stakes  and  fires  to 
burn  out  the  name  of  Jesus?  Would  ye  try  racks  and  thumb- 
screws? .  Would  ye  give  us  the  boots  and  instruments  of  torture? 
Try  it,  sirs,  and  ye  shall  not  quench  Christianity.     Each  martyr, 


SERMONS.  597 

dipping  his  finger  in  his  blood,  would  write  its  honors  on  the 
heavens  as  he  died ;  and  the  very  flame  that  mounted  up  to 
heaven  would  emblazon  the  skies  with  the  name  of  Jesus.  Per- 
secution has  been  tried.  Turn  to  the  Alps ;  let  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont  speak;  let  Switzerland  testify;  let  France,  with  its  St. 
Bartholomew ;  let  England,  with  all  its  massacres,  speak.  And 
if  ye  have  not  crushed  it  yet,  shall  ye  hope  to  do  it?  Shall  ye? 
Nay,  a  thousand  are  to  be  found,  and  ten  thousand  if  it  were 
necessary,  who  are  willing  to  march  to  the  stake  to-morrow;  and 
when  they  are  burned,  if  ye  could  take  up  their  hearts,  ye  would 
see  engraven  upon  each  of  them  the  name  of  Jesus.  "  His  name 
shall  endure  for  ever;  "  for  how  can  ye  destroy  our  love  to  it? 
"  Ah,  but,"  ye  say,  "  we  would  try  gentler  means  than  that !  " 
Well,  what  would  ye  attempt?  Would  ye  invent  a  better  religion? 
We  bid  you  do  it,  and  let  us  hear  it;  we  have  not  yet  so  much  as 
believed  you  capable  of  such  a  discovery.  What  then?  Would 
ye  wake  up  one  that  should  deceive  us  and  lead  us  astray?  We 
bid  you  do  it;  for  it  is  not  possible  to  deceive  the  elect.  You 
may  deceive  the  multitude,  but  God's  elect  shall  not  be  led  astray. 
They  have  tried  us.  Have  they  not  given  us  Popery?  Have  they 
not  assailed  us  wnth  Puseyism?  Are  they  not  tempting  us  with 
Arminianism  by  the  wholesale?  And  do  we  therefore  renounce 
God's  truth?  No;  we  have  taken  this  for  our  motto,  and  by  it 
we  will  stand.  "  The  Bible,  the  whole  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the 
Bible,"  is  still  the  religion  of  Protestants ;  and  the  self-same  truth 
which  moved  the  lips  of  Chrysostom,  the  old  doctrine  that  rav- 
ished the  heart  of  Augustine,  the  old  faith  which  Athanasius  de- 
clared, the  good  old  doctrine  that  Calvin  preached,  is  our  gospel 
now;  and,  God  helping  us,  we  will  stand  by  it  till  we  die.  How 
will  ye  quench  it?  If  ye  wish  to  do  it,  where  can  ye  find  the 
means?  It  is  not  in  your  power.  Aha!  aha!  aha!  we  laugh  you 
to  scorn. 

But  you  will  quench  it,  will  you?  You  will  try  it,  do  you  say? 
And  you  hope  you  will  accomplish  your  purpose?  Yes;  I  know 
you  will,  when  you  have  annihilated  the  sun;  when  you  have 
quenched  the  moon  with  drops  of  your  tears ;  when  you  have 
dried  up  the  sea  with  your  drinking.  Then  shall  ye  do  it.  And 
yet  ye  say  ye  will ! 


598  LIFE  AND   LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

And  next,  I  ask  you,  suppose  you  did,  what  would  become  of 
the  world  then?  Ah!  were  I  eloquent  to-night,  I  might  perhaps 
tell  you.  If  I  could  borrow  the  language  of  a  Robert  Hall  I  might 
hang  the  world  in  mourning;  I  might  make  the  sea  the  great  chief 
mourner,  with  its  dirge  of  howling  winds  and  its  wild  death-march 
of  disordered  waves;  I  might  clothe  all  nature,  not  in  robes  of 
green,  but  in  garments  of  sombre  blackness ;  I  would  bid  hur- 
ricanes howl  the  solemn  wailing,  —  that  death-shriek  of  a  world. 
For  what  would  become  of  us  if  we  should  lose  the  gospel?  As 
for  me,  I  tell  you  fairly,  I  would  cry,  "  Let  me  begone !  "  I  would 
have  no  wish  to  be  here  without  my  Lord ;  and  if  the  gospel  be 
not  true,  I  should  bless  God  to  annihilate  me  this  instant,  for  I 
would  not  care  to  live  if  ye  could  destroy  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ.  But  that  would  not  be  all,  that  one  man  should  be  miser- 
able, for  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  who  can  speak  as  I  do. 
Again,  what  would  become  of  civilization  if  ye  could  take  Chris- 
tianity away?  Where  would  be  the  hope  of  a  perpetual  peace? 
Where  governments?  Where  your  Sabbath-schools?  Where  all 
your  societies?  Where  everything  that  ameliorates  the  condition 
of  man,  reforms  his  manners,  and  elevates  his  character?  Where? 
Let  Echo  answer,  "Where?"  They  would  be  gone,  and  not  a  scrap 
of  them  would  be  left.  And  where,  O  men,  would  be  your  hope 
of  heaven?  And  where  the  knowledge  of  eternity?  Where  a 
help  across  the  river  death?  Where  a  heaven?  And  where  bliss 
everlasting?  All  were  gone  if  His  name  did  not  endure  for  ever. 
But  we  are  sure  of  it,  we  know  it,  we  affirm  it,  we  declare  it;  we 
believe,  and  ever  will,  that  "  His  name  shall  endure  for  ever  "  — 
ay,  for  ever !   let  who  will  try  to  stop  it. 

This  is  my  first  point.  I  shall  have  to  speak  with  rather  bated 
breath  upon  the  second,  although  I  feel  so  warm  within  as  well  as 
without,  that  I  would  to  God  I  could  speak  with  all  my  strength 
as  I  might  do. 

n.  But,  secondly,  as  His  religion,  so  the  honor  of  His  name  is  to 
last  for  ever.  Voltaire  said  he  lived  in  the  twilight  of  Christianity. 
He  meant  a  lie ;  he  spoke  the  truth.  He  did  live  in  its  twilight ; 
but  it  was  the  twilight  before  the  morning,  —  not  the  twilight  of 
the  evening,  as  he  meant  to  say;   for  the  morning  comes,  when 


SERMONS.  599 

the  light  of  the  sun  shall  break  upon  us  in  its  truest  glory.  The 
scorners  have  said  that  we  should  soon  forget  to  honor  Christ,  and 
that  one  day  no  man  should  acknowledge  Him.  Now,  we  assert 
again,  in  the  words  of  my  text,  "  His  name  shall  endure  for  ever," 
as  to  the  honor  of  it.  Yes,  I  will  tell  you  how  long  it  will  endure. 
As  long  as  on  this  earth  there  is  a  sinner  who  has  been  reclaimed 
by  Omnipotent  grace,  Christ's  name  shall  endure ;  as  long  as  there 
is  a  Mary  ready  to  wash  His  feet  with  tears  and  wipe  them  with  the 
hair  of  her  head ;  as  long  as  there  breathes  a  chief  of  sinners  who 
has  washed  himself  in  the  Fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  unclean- 
ness ;  as  long  as  there  exists  a  Christian  who  has  put  his  faith  in 
Jesus  and  found  Him  his  delight,  his  refuge,  his  stay,  his  shield,  his 
song,  and  his  joy,  there  will  be  no  fear  that  Jesus'  name  will  cease 
to  be  heard.  We  can  never  give  up  that  name.  We  let  the  Uni- 
tarian take  his  gospel  without  a  Godhead  in  it,  we  let  him  deny 
Jesus  Christ;  but  as  long  as  Christians  —  true  Christians  —  live,  as 
long  as  we  taste  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  have  manifestations  of 
His  love,  sights  of  His  face,  whispers  of  His  mercy,  assurances  of 
His  affection,  promises  of  His  grace,  hopes  of  His  blessing,  we 
cannot  cease  to  honor  His  name.  But  if  all  these  were  gone,  —  if 
we  were  to  cease  to  sing  His  praise,  would  Jesus  Christ's  name  be 
forgotten  then?  No;  the  stones  would  sing,  the  hills  would  be  an 
orchestra,  the  mountains  would  skip  like  rams,  and  the  little  hills 
like  lambs.  For  is  He  not  their  creator?  And  if  these  lips  and  the 
lips  of  all  mortals  were  dumb  at  once,  there  are  creatures  enough 
in  this  wide  world  besides.  Why,  the  sun  would  lead  the  chorus ; 
the  moon  would  play  upon  her  silver  harp,  and  sweetly  sing  to  her 
music  ;  stars  would  dance  in  their  measured  courses ;  the  shoreless 
depths  of  ether  would  become  the  home  of  songs ;  and  the  void 
immensity  would  burst  out  into  one  great  shout,  "Thou  art  the 
glorious  Son  of  God  ;  great  is  Thy  majesty  and  infinite  Thy  power." 
Can  Christ's  name  be  forgotten?  No;  it  is  painted  on  the  skies; 
it  is  written  on  the  floods ;  the  winds  whisper  it ;  the  tempests 
howl  it;  the  seas  chant  it;  the  stars  shine  it;  the  beasts  low  it;  the 
thunders  proclaim  it;  earth  shouts  it;  heaven  echoes  it.  But  if  that 
were  gone,  —  if  this  great  universe  should  all  subside  in  God,  just 
as  a  moment's  foam  subsides  into  the  wave  that  bears  it  and  is  lost 


600  LIFE   AND    LABORS   OF   C.   H.    SPURGEON. 

forever,  —  would  His  name  be  forgotten  then?  No.  Turn  your 
eyes  up  yonder ;  see  heaven's  terra  finna.  "  Who  are  these  that 
are  arrayed  in  white,  and  whence  came  they?"  "These  are  they 
that  came  out  of  great  tribulation ;  they  have  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  therefore  they 
are  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  praise  Him  day  and  night  in  His 
temple."  And  if  these  were  gone  ;  if  the  last  harp  of  the  glorified 
had  been  touched  with  the  last  fingers ;  if  the  last  praise  of  the 
saints  had  ceased ;  if  the  last  hallelujah  had  echoed  through  the 
then  deserted  vaults  of  heaven,  for  they  would  be  gloomy  then ;  if 
the  last  immortal  had  been  buried  in  his  grave,  —  if  graves  there 
might  be  for  immortals,  —  would  His  praise  cease  then  ?  No,  by 
heaven,  no;  for  yonder  stand  the  angels;  they  too  sing  His  glory; 
to  Him  the  cherubim  and  seraphim  do  cry  without  ceasing,  when 
they  mention  His  name  in  that  thrice  holy  chorus,  "  Holy,  holy, 
holy.  Lord  God  of  armies."  But  if  these  were  perished ;  if  an- 
gels had  been  swept  away  ;  if  the  wing  of  seraph  never  flapped  the 
ether;  if  the  voice  of  the  cherub  never  sang  His  flaming  sonnet; 
if  the  hving  creatures  ceased  their  everlasting  chorus ;  if  the  meas- 
ured symphonies  of  glory  were  extinct  in  silence,  —  would  His 
name  then  be  lost?  Ah,  no !  for  as  God  upon  the  throne  He  sits, 
the  everlasting  One,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  And  if  the 
universe  were  all  annihilated,  still  would  His  name  be  heard,  for 
the  Father  would  hear  it,  and  the  Spirit  would  hear  it,  and,  deeply 
graven  on  immortal  marble  in  the  rocks  of  ages,  it  would  stand, 
—  Jesus  the  Son  of  God;  co-equal  with  His  Father.  "His  name 
shall  endure  for  ever." 

HL  And  so  shall  the  power  of //zs  name.  Do  you  inquire  what 
this  is?  Let  me  tell  you.  Seest  thou  yonder  thief  hanging  upon 
the  cross?  Behold  the  fiends  at  the  foot  thereof,  with  open 
mouths,  charming  themselves  with  the  sweet  thought  that  another 
soul  shall  give  them  meat  in  hell.  Behold  the  death-bird,  flutter- 
ing his  wings  o'er  the  poor  wretch's  head  ;  Vengeance  passes  by  and 
stamps  him  for  her  own ;  deep  on  his  breast  is  written  "  A  con- 
demned sinner ;  "  on  his  brow  is  the  clammy  sweat  expressed  from 
him  by  agony  and  death.  Look  in  his  heart :  it  is  filthy  with  the 
crust  of  years  of  sin;  the  smoke  of  lust  is  hanging  within,  in  black 


SERMONS.  60 1 

festoons  of  darkness;  his  whole  heart  is  hell  condensed.  Now 
look  at  him.  He  is  dying.  One  foot  seems  to  be  in  hell ;  the 
other  hangs  tottering  in  life,  —  only  kept  by  a  nail.  There  is  a 
power  in  Jesus'  eye.  That  thief  looks :  he  whispers,  "  Lord,  re- 
member me."  Turn  your  eye  again  there.  Do  you  see  that  thief? 
Where  is  the  clammy  sweat?  It  is  there.  Where  is  that  horrid 
anguish?  It  is  not  there.  Positively  there  is  a  smile  upon  his  lips. 
The  fiends  of  hell,  where  are  they?  There  are  none;  but  a  bright 
seraph  is  present,  with  his  wings  outspread,  and  his  hands  ready 
to  snatch  that  soul,  now  a  precious  jewel,  and  bear  it  aloft  to  the 
palace  of  the  Great  King.  Look  within  his  heart:  it  is  white  with 
purity.  Look  at  his  breast:  it  is  not  written  "  condemned,"  but 
"justified."  Look  in  the  book  of  life:  his  name  is  graven  there. 
Look  on  Jesus'  heart:  there  on  one  of  the  precious  stones  He 
bears  that  poor  thief's  name.  Yea,  once  more,  look !  Seest  thou 
that  bright  one  amid  the  glorified,  clearer  than  the  sun  and  fair  as 
the  moon?  That  is  the  thief!  That  is  the  power  of  Jesus;  and 
that  power  shall  endure  for  ever.  He  who  saved  the  thief  can  save 
the  last  man  who  shall  ever  live ;   for  still 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins  ; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains. 

"  The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day  ; 
Oh,  may  I  there,  though  vile  as  he, 
Wash  all  my  sins  away. 

"  Dear  dying  Lamb  !  that  precious  blood 
Shall  never  lose  its  power 
Till  all  the  ransomed  Church  of  God 
Be  saved  to  sin  no  more." 

His  powerful  name  shall  endure  for  ever. 

Nor  is  that  all  the  power  of  His  name.  Let  me  take  you  to 
another  scene,  and  ye  shall  witness  somewhat  else.  There  on  that 
death-bed  lies  a  saint.  No  gloom  is  on  his  brow,  no  terror  on  his 
face ;  weakly  but  placidly  he  smiles ;  he  groans,  perhaps,  but  yet 
he  sings.     He  sighs  now  and  then,  but  oftener  he  shouts.     Stand 


602  LIFE   AND   LABORS   OF   C.    H.    SPURGEON. 

by  him.  "  My  brother,  what  makes  thee  look  in  Death's  face  with 
such  joy?"  "Jesus,"  he  whispers.  "What  makes  thee  so  placid 
and  so  calm?  "  "The  name  of  Jesus."  See,  he  forgets  everything! 
Ask  him  a  question;  he  cannot  answer  it,  —  he  does  not  under- 
stand you.  Still  he  smiles.  His  wife  comes,  inquiring,  "  Do  you 
know  my  name?"  He  answers,  "No."  His  dearest  friend  re- 
quests him  to  remember  his  intimacy.  "  I  know  you  not,"  he 
says.  Whisper  in  his  ear,  "  Do  you  know  the  name  of  Jesus?" 
and  his  eyes  flash  glory,  and  his  face  beams  heaven,  and  his  lips 
speak  sonnets,  and  his  heart  bursts  with  eternity,  for  he  hears  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  that  name  shall  endure  for  ever.  He  who 
landed  one  in  heaven  will  land  me  there.  Come  on,  death !  I 
will  mention  Christ's  name  there.  O  grave !  this  shall  be  my 
glory,  the  name  of  Jesus  !  Hell  dog  !  this  shall  be  thy  death,  — 
for  the  sting  of  death  is  extracted,  —  Christ  our  Lord.  "  His 
name  shall  endure  for  ever." 

I  had  a  hundred  particulars  to  give  you ;  but  my  voice  fails,  so 
I  had  better  stop.  You  will  not  require  more  of  me  to-night;  you 
perceive  the  difficulty  I  feel  in  speaking  each  word.  May  God 
send  it  home  to  your  souls !  I  am  not  particularly  anxious  about 
my  own  name,  whether  that  shall  endure  for  ever  or  not,  provided 
it  is  recorded  in  my  Master's  book.  George  Wliitfield,  when 
asked  whether  he  would  found  a  denomination,  said,  "  No  ; 
Brother  John  W'esley  may  do  as  he  pleases,  but  let  my  name 
perish ;  let  Christ's  name  last  for  ever."  Amen  to  that !  Let  my 
name  perish ;  but  let  Christ's  name  last  for  ever.  I  shall  be  quite 
contented  for  you  to  go  away  and  forget  me.  I  shall  not  see  the 
faces  of  half  of  you  again,  I  dare  say;  you  may  never  be  per- 
suaded to  step  within  the  walls  of  a  conventicle;  you  will  think 
it  perhaps  not  respectable  enough  to  come  to  a  Baptist  meeting. 
Well,  I  do  not  say  we  are  a  very  respectable  people ;  we  don't  pro- 
fess to  be.  But  this  one  thing  we  do  profess,  we  love  our  Bibles ; 
and  if  that  is  not  respectable  to  do  so,  we  do  not  care  to  be  had 
in  esteem.  But  we  do  not  know  that  we  are  so  disreputable  after 
all,  for  I  believe,  if  I  may  state  my  own  opinion,  that  if  Protestant 
Christendom  were  counted  out  of  that  door,  —  not  merely  every 
real  Christian,  but  every  professor,  —  I  believe  the  Paedobaptists 


SERMONS.  603 

would  have  no  very  great  majority  to  boast  of.  We  are  not,  after 
all,  such  a  very  small,  disreputable  sect.  Regard  us  in  England, 
we  may  be;  but  take  America,  Jamaica,  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
include  those  who  are  Baptists  in  principle,  though  not  openly  so, 
and  we  surrender  to  none,  not  even  to  the  Established  Church 
of  this  country,  in  numbers.  That,  however,  we  care  very  little 
about ;  for  I  say  of  the  Baptist  name,  let  it  perish,  but  let  Christ's 
name  last  for  ever.  I  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  day  when 
there  will  not  be  a  Baptist  living.  I  hope  they  will  soon  be  gone. 
You  will  say,  "Why?"  Because  when  everybody  else  sees  bap- 
tism by  immersion,  we  shall  be  immersed  into  all  sects,  and  our 
sect  wdll  be  gone.  Once  give  us  the  predominance,  and  we  are 
not  a  sect  any  longer.  A  man  may  be  a  Churchman,  a  Wesleyan, 
or  an  Independent,  and  yet  be  a  Baptist.  So  that  I  say  I  hope  the 
Baptist  name  will  soon  perish ;  but  let  Christ's  name  last  for  ever. 
Yea,  and  yet  again,  much  as  I  love  dear  Old  England,  I  do  not 
believe  she  will  ever  perish.  No,  Britain,  thou  shalt  never  perish ! 
for  the  flag  of  Old  England  is  nailed  to  the  mast  by  the  prayers  of 
Christians,  by  the  efforts  of  Sunday-schools  and  her  pious  men. 
But  I  say,  let  even  England's  name  perish ;  let  her  be  merged  in 
one  great  brotherhood ;  let  us  have  no  England,  and  no  France, 
and  no  Russia,  and  no  Turkey;  but  let  us  have  Christendom.  And 
I  say  heartily,  from  my  soul,  let  nations  and  national  distinctions 
perish,  but  let  Christ's  name  last  for  ever !  Perhaps  there  is  only 
one  thing  on  earth  that  I  love  better  than  the  last  I  have  men- 
tioned,—  and  that  is,  the  pure  doctrine  of  unadulterated  Calvinism. 
But  if  that  be  wrong,  —  if  there  be  anything  in  that  which  is  false, 
—  I  for  one  say  let  that  perish  too,  and  let  Christ's  name  last  for 
ever.  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  "  Crown  Him  Lord  of  all !  " 
You  will  not  hear  me  say  anything  else.  These  are  my  last  words 
in  Exeter  Hall  for  this  time.  "  Jesus !  Jesus !  Jesus !  Crown 
Him  Lord  of  all !  " 


University  Press :  John  Wilson  &  Son,  Cambridge. 


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